^  0  1890  -^ 


^/Oi?ir;^ib^^^ 


rec- :...:!:.  F  2.-^ 


MEN  OF 

THE  BIBLE. 

Under  an  arrangement  with  the  Enj^  ish  pub- 
lishers, Messrs.  A.  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  &  Co. 
will  issue  a  series  of  volumes  by  distinguished 
scholars,  on 

THE   MEN   OF   THE   BIBLE. 

ABRAHAM  :    HIS    LIFE   AND    TIMES.     By   tlM 

Rev.  W.  J.  Deank,  M.A. 
MOSES :    HIS    LIFE   AND   TIMES.     By  the  Rev. 

Canon  G.  Rawlinson,  M.A. 
SOLOMON  :  HIS  LIFE  AND  TIMES.    By  the  Veo. 

Arrhdeacon  Farrar,  D.D. 
ISAIAH:   HIS   LIFE  AND  TIMES.     By  the  Rev. 

Canon  S.  R.  Driver,  M.A. 
SAMUEL   AND    SAUL:     THEIR    LIVES    AND 

TIMES.     By  Rev.  William  J.  Dean,  M.A. 

JEREMIAH:    HIS   LIFE    AND   TIMES.     By   the 

Rev.  Canon  T.  K.  Cheyne,  M.A. 
JESUS  THE  CHRIST:    HIS  LIFE  AND  TIMES 

By  the  Rev.  F.  J.  Vallings,  M.A. 
ELIJAH  :   HIS  LIFE  AND  TIMES.     By  the  Rev 

W.   MiLUGAN,   D.D. 
DANIEL  :  HIS  LIFE  AND  TIMES.  By  H.  Deane, 

B.D. 
DAVID  :    HIS  LIFE  AND  TIMES.     By  Rev.  Wm. 

J.  Deane,  M.A. 
KINGS  OF  ISRAEL  AND  JUDAH.     By  the  Rev. 

Canon  G.  Rawlinson,  iM.A. 

JOSHUA:    HIS    LIFE    AND    TIMES.      By    Rev. 
\Villi.\m  J.  Deane. 


To  the  student  and  the  getwral  reader  thes* 
vohvnes  wiil  be  found  alike  nscftii  ajid  inter- 
esting,  and  the  question  may  well  be  asked,  why 
the  intelligent  reader  should  not  find  the  lives 
of  the  great  men  of  the  Bible  as  useful  or  as 
fascinating  as  the  story  of  //•,;■:•.'•  -vho  have  7Von 
a  conspic2(oits  place  in  the  aun'.ils  of  secular 
history.  And  yet  how  indifferent  thousands  oj 
cultivated  persons  are  to  these  lives,  save  only 
as  they  are  recorded  in  outline  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures.     Price,  $i.oo  each. 

*,fc*  Sent  hy  mail  on  receipt  of  price. 

ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  &  COMPANY, 

38   WF.ST   TWENTY-THIl^D   STRP.ET.    N.   \ 


THE 

MINOR    PROPHETS 


REV.    F.    W.    FARRAR,    D.D.,    F.R.S. 

ARCHDEACON  AND  CANON  OF  WESTMINSTER;  AND  CHAI'LAIN 
IN  ORDINARY  TO  THE  QUEEN. 


NEW  YORK : 
ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  &  COMPANY, 

38   WEST   T\VE?TTV  TIIIRO   STREET. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

General  Characteristics  of  Hebrew  Prophecy     .       .       .       i 

Prophet  or  Seer — The  origin  of  the  words  and  the  distinctions 
between  them— The  word  "prophet" — Its  modern  and  its  scrip- 
tural meaning— Predictions — Old  sense  of  "prophecy" — Pro- 
phetic insight — Prophecies  dependent  on  conditions— Jonah  and 
Ezekiel — Micah  and  Jeremiah — The  prophets  preachers  of  right- 
eousness—  Prophetic  schools  —  Prophecy  not  ecstatic — The 
prophets  as  statesmen — Their  heroic  faith — Their  spirituality — 
Their  proclamation  of  righteousness — Their  Messianic  announce- 
ment— Their  unwavering  hopefulness. 

CHAPTER  n.     • 
The  Writings  of  the  Prophets t6 

The  prophets  as  authors  —Amos — Written  and  spoken  prophecy  — 
Style  of  the  prophets — Their  fragmentary  preservation — Their 
subsequent  publication— What  is  meant  by  "  Minor"  Prophets — 
The  reformers  of  Judaism— Use  of  the  Minor  Prophets  in  the 
New  Testament. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Chronological  Order  of  the  Prophets 23 

Unchronological  order — Three  groups  of  prophets — Their  true 
chronological  sequence — Supposed  subjective  arrangement — A 
general  survey  of  the  epochs  of  prophecy. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Thil  Prophets  as  Spiritual  Teachers 28 

Amos  as  a  prophet— Grandeur  of  his  attitude — Existence  of  the 
Law — Asserted  limitations  of  the  prophets — Anthropomorphism 
—  Particularism  —  Imperfect  knowledge  of  immortality  —  They 
rarely  address  individuals — Need  of  a  re-statement  of  the  argu- 
ment from  prophecy — Literal  and  ideal  predictions — Irreconcilable 
elements — The  Messianic  expectation. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 


Amos 


3S 


The  heading  of  Amos— His  date — Historic  allusions — Reign  of 
Jeroboam  II. — Moral  corruption  and  its  inevitable  doom — Idola- 
try and  disorder  —The  irony  uf  history — A  Southerner— A  peasant- 
prophet— His  images  from  nature — His  intellectual  eminence — 
His  tremendous  rhetoric — His  summons  to  the  north^His  stem 
denunciations  and  tlireats  of  doom — Episode  of  bis  personal 
history — His  return  to  Tekoah. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

I  iiK  Prophecy  of  Amos 49 

General  subject  of  his  prophecy — Five  main  sections  : — I.  The 
first  section :  Denunciation  of  seven  nations — Syria,  Philistia, 
Tyre,  Edom,  Ammon,  Moab,  Judah — The  iniquities  of  Israel — 
Her  fourfold  transgressions — Her  base  ingratitude — Noble  moral 
indignation.  II.  The  condemnation — i.  Significance  of  his  mis- 
sion— 2.  The  arraignment— a.  P"or  civil  opi)ression—j8.  For  luxury 
y.  For  impenitence.  HI.  The  final  doom — i.  The  dirge — 2. 
Renewed  accusations — 3.  Reproof  of  formalism — 4.  Fresh  menaces 
— 5.  The  doom  once  more.  IV.  Four  visions  and  a  history.  V. 
Last  warnings— One  vision  more— Last  words  of  hope. 

CHAPTER  VIL 

MOSEA 69 

Traditional  heading — Probable  dates  of  his  various  prophecies — 
Five  divisions — The  chronology  partly  artificial 

CHAPTER  VHI. 

IiiK  Prophecy  of  Ho.sea 82 

Hosea  obscure  in  outline — His  style — His  allusions  to  nature  and 
to  history — His  parofiomasias- -References  to  him  in  the  New 
Testament— His  theology— The  book  of  his  prophecies — i.  Accu- 
sations against  Israel— 2.  More  special  accusations— 3.  The 
punishment— 4.  Retrospect,  denunciation,  consolation — Wrong 
lines  of  interpretation — 5.  Final  retrospect  and  conclusion — The 
tone  and  colour  of  his  jjrophecies  explained  by  his  personal  ex- 
jieriences— Autoliiography  involved  in  the  three  first  chapters. 
— The  lesson  which  Hosea  had  learnt. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

J<iEL 10.1 

Joel — Nothing  known  of  him — His  name — Widely  different  con- 
jectures as  to  his  date — Elements  of  the  decision — His  style — His 
eschalology  compared  with  that  of  other  prophets — Indications 
that  he  was  a  post-exile  prophet — Allusions  to  the  Captivity — 
Priestly  sympathies  — Recapitulation— Origin  of  the  prophecy — 
Indebtedness  to  earlier  sources. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEsR  X- 

The  Book  of  Joel 113 

Oufline  of  the_prophecy — i.  The  Day  of  the-Lofd  and  the  locust 
plague— 2.  Historic  notice — 3.  Consolfng  promise  of  the  nearer 
future — 4.  The  blessings  of  the  Churcn,  the  judgment  of  the 
world.  Difficulties  of  interpretation — Are  fhe  locusts  literal  or 
allegorical  ? — DifficuUfes  in  either  view. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

MiCAH 124 

Incident  lelated  by  Jeremiah — Jf.  shows  us  the  true  nature  of 
Hebrew  prophecy — The  heading— ^The  name  Micali — His  birth- 
place aad  rank — His  denunciations — The  menace  of  Assyria — 
Style  of  Micah — Difficulties. 

CH^\PTER  XII. 

The  Book  of  Micah 129 

The  heading — Abrupt  diaracter  of  the  divisions — I.  The  threat 
of  judgment — Elaborate  paronomasias — Their  significance — II. 
Guilt  and  judgment — III.  The  promise  of  blessmg— IV.  The  two 
la^t  chapters — A  magnificent  colloquy — A  high  spiritual  lesson — 
The  final  hope. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Nahum 141 

Nahum,  his  name  and  birthplace — Unique  character  of  his  pro* 
phecy — Sketch  of  the  history  of  Assyria,  Tiglath-Pileser  I., 
Asshurnazipal,  Shalmenezer  II.,  Sennacherib,  Esarhaddon, 
Asshurbanipal — Fall  of  Nineveh — Her  cruelty  and  brutality — 
Outline  of  Nahum's  prophecy — Its  fulfilment. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Zephaniah 153 

Zephaniah — His  date— His  style— His  object — His  characteristics 
^Diminojtion  of  originality — Outline  of  the  Book — The  Menace 
— The  Admonition — Tlie  Ptomise — Conclusion 


159 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Habakkuk         

The  name  HabaKkuk — Perhaps  a  Levite — His  daft — His  emi- 
nence and  originality — His  book — The  com  plaint -^The  oracle — 
Its  deep  significance — The  Pa;an — legends. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Obadiah 17J 

Obadiah — What  is  known  of  him — His  date — His  allusions — 
Relations  between  Israel  and  Edom  —  Analysis  an^  general 
bearing  of  the  propliecy — The  fiUfilments. 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 


Haggai 


PAGI 

i8S 


196 


Haggai— Beginning  of  an  inferior  order  of  Prophets— The  return- 
ing exiles— Analysis  of  the  book— Its  difficulties. 

CHAPTKR  XVIII. 

Zechariah 

The  name  Zechariah — Various  bearers  of  the  name — Whose  son  ? 
—  Iddo—  Time  and  outline  of  his  prophecy,  i.  First  address  ; 
Repent,  i.  First  vision  :  The  angel  riders,  ii.  The  four  horses 
and  four  smiths,  iii.  The  Restoration  of  Jerusalem,  iv.  The 
Priesthood  and  the  Br;inch.  v.  The  golden  candelabrum,  vi. 
The  roll  and  the  ephah.  vii.  The  four  chariots— Historic  appen- 
dices :  I.  Tlie  crowning  of  the  High  Priest.  2.  The  question 
about  fasting. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

An  Anonymous  Propiirt 208 

These  chapters  by  an  earlier  prophet— Decisive  proofs  of  this — 
Attempts  to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  book— How  the  mistake 
arose — i.  The  triumph  of  Zion— i.  The  judgment  on  the  heathen 
— ii.  The  holy  King  of  Zion — iii.  Promises  of  deliverance — 2. 
Divine  exaltation  of  liphraim  and  Judah — 3.  Apostasy  and  judg- 
ment— Remarkable  tyjwlogy. 

CHAPTER   XX. 

"Zechariah"  xii-xiv 216 

A  third  prophet — Peculiarities  of  his  prophecy— Political  circum- 
stances of  the  time — The  attitude  of  Judah  to  Jerusalem— I. 
Thegreatdeliverance—i.  God's  judgments  on  the  heathen — ii.  The 
repentance  of  Jerusalem— iii.  I'he  purification  from  guilt-  11. 
Judgment  and  final  glory— i.  The  day  of  the  Lord— ii.  Partial 
deliverance  —  iii.  Judgment  on  enemies  —  iv.  The  Messianic 
kingdom. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Malachi 223 

The  name  Malachi— Date  of  the  prophet— Condition  of  contem- 
porary society — Deeply  seated  evils— Germs  of  ultimate  Judaism 
— Style  of  Malachi — Outline  of  the  book — I.  Sins  of  the  priests — 
i.  Introductory  statement — ii.  Ingratitude  of  the  priests  — II.  Sins 
of  the  peoj)le— Heathen  marriages  and  divorces — i.  Defiance — ii. 
Warning— iii.  Distrust — iv.  The  day  of  the  Lord. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

I'lNAH 231 

Peculiarity  of  the  book — Its  late  origin — Its  purpose  and  lessons 
—  Difficulties — Arguments  of  those  who  defend  its  genuineness — 
i.  Defence  of  the  miraculous — ii.  Historical  parallels-  ni.  Refer- 
ence of  our  Lord. 

(    IlIKK    PROPHKCIES    in    THE    MiNOR     PROI'IHCTS    WHICH    ARE    MES- 
.-.IANICAI.LY    AIM'I.IED,    ok    OTHEKWISIC    REFERRED    TO    IN    THE 

New  Ie-stament 244 


BOOKS    ON   THE   PROPHETS. 

Betides  the  monographs  to  which  reference  is  made  under  each  separate 
head,  there  are  many  Patristic'  Rabbinic,"  Scholastic,  Reformation,' 
Post-Reformation,  and  modern  commentaries  on  the  "  Minor  Prophets." 
It  is  not  here  necessary  to  give  a  list  of  these  ;  but  the  following  modern 
books  may  be  mentioned  : 

Diestel,  "  Gesch.  d.  Alien  Testaments,"  Jena,  1869. 

Knobel,  "  Prophetismus  d.  Hebraer,"  1837. 

Hengsterberg,  "  Christologie  des  Alt.  Test.,"  Berlin,  and  ed.,  1857. 

Tiioluck,  "Die  Propheten  u.  ihre  Weissagimgen,"  Gotha,  i860. 

Hofmann,  "  Weissagung  u.  Erfiillung,"  Nordlingen,  1844. 

Riehm,  "  Die  Messianische  Weissagung,"  Gotha,  1865. 

Stahelin,  "  Die  Messianischeii  Weissagungen,"  Berlin,  1847. 

Kuenen,  "  Prophets  and  Prophecy  in  Israel,"  London,  1877,  Eng.  tr. 

Kijper,  "Das  Prophetentiium,"  Leipzig,  1870. 

W.  Robertson  Smith,  "  Prophets  of  Israel,"  Edinburgh,  1882. 

Delitzsch,  "Messianic  Prophecies,"  Edinburgh,  1880,  Eng.  tr. 

Reuss,  "  Les  Prophetes,"  Paris.     ("  La  Bible,"  1876.) 

Duhm,  "  Theologie  der  Propheten,"  Bonn,  1875. 

Rowland  Williams,  "The  Hebrew  Prophets,"  London,  1871. 

C.  V.  Orelli,  "Das  Biich  Ezechiel  u.  die  Zwolf  Kleinen  Propheten," 
Nordlingen,  t888. 

Ewald,  "  Die  Propheten,  Zte  Aufl.,  '  Gottingen,  1868. 

Hitzig,  "Die  Zwolf  Kleinen  Propheten,"  (edited  by  Prof.  Steiner,  Leip- 
zig, 188 1 ). 

Pusey,  "  The  Minor  Prophets,"  i860. 

For  Chronological  questions  see — 

Schrader,  "Cuneiform  Inscriptions,"  2nd  ed.,  Giessen,  1883. 
Kamphausen,  "  Die  Chronologic  d.  Heb.  Konige,"  Bonn,  1883. 
Duncker,  "Hist,  of  Antiquity." 

"  Records  of  the  Past,  '  Bagster,  London.     New  Series,  1889. 
'  Church  Quarterly  Review,"  Jan.,  1886. 


'  E.g.,  by  Jerome,  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria. 
■  E.g.,  by  Rashi  ;  (tii05)Ibi,  Ezra  (I1167)  ;  and  Kimchi  (11330). 
'  E.g.,  by  (Kcolampadius  (1555);  Calvin  (1557). 


CHRONOLOGY. 

{From  G.  Smi/h's  ^'Assyrian  Discoveries") 
Assyrian  Kings. 

B.C. 

Tiglath-Pileser  1 1120-1100 

Assur-nazir-pal        885-860 

Shalmaneser  II 860-825 

Tiglath-Pileser  II 745-72? 

Shalmaneser  IV 727-722 

Sargon  i 722-705 

Sennacherib      705-681 

Esarhaddon       681-668 

Assur-bani-pul 668-626 

Bel-zakir-iskun  626-620 

Assur-ebil-ili      620-607 

Destruction  of  Nineveh       606 

Chaldean  Kings. 

B.C. 

Nebuchadnezzar  1 1150 

Nabonassur         747 

[Babylon  Destroyed  689] 

Restored  by  Esarhaddon         681 

Nabopolazzar      626 

Nebuchadnezzar  III 605     (Nabu-kudur-uzur) 

Evilmerodach     562 

Neriglissar  5^ 

Labarosvarkodur  ? 55^ 

Nabonidus 55^ 

Belshazzar    ( Bel-sai-uzur)    was    associated    with 

his  father  on  the  throne 

Cyrus  conquers  Babylon 539 

I  "Sargon  asserts  that  he  was  preceded  by  330  .Assyrian  kings." — Sayce, 
"  Records  of  the  Piist."  New  Series,  ii.  205  (Some  of  the  above  dates  are 
given  very  differently  /.  c. ). 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS   OF   HEBREW   PROPHECY. 

"  Men  divinely  taught,  and  better  teaching 
In  their  majestic,  unaffected  style, 
The  solid  rules  of  civil  government 
Than  all  the  oratory  of  Greece  and  Rome." 

Milton,  "  Paradise  Regained,"  iv. 

Prophet  or  Seer — The  origin  of  the  words  and  the  distinctions  between  them 
— The  word  "  prophet" — Its  modern  and  its  Scriptural  meaning — Pre- 
dictions— Old  sense  of  "prophecy" — Prophetic  insight — Prophecies 
dependent  on  conditions — Jonah  and  Ezekiel — Micah  and  Jeremiah— 
The  prophets  preachers  of  righteousness — Prophetic  schools — Pro- 
phecy not  ecstatic — The  prophets  as  statesmen — Their  heroic  faith— 
Their  spirituality — Their  proclamation  of  righteousness — Their  Mes- 
sianic announcement — Their  unwavering  hopefulness. 

Before  we  speak  of  the  separate  works  of  the  Minor  Prophets, 
it  is  essential  to  form  a  correct  and  definite  conception  of  the 
origin  of  the  prophetic  body,  and  of  the  functions  of  prophecy  in 
general  among  the  ancient  Hebrews. 

In  every  enquiry  it  is  best  to  begin  by  ascertaining,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  meaning  and  history  of  the  words  employed. 

The  commonest  Hebrew  word  for  prophet  is  Nabi  (*^^3j), 
which  occurs  some  three  hundred  times  in  the  Old  Testament,  and 
must  be  regarded  as  the  normal  designation  in  all  ages.  It  is  true 
that  from  i  Sam.  ix.  9  we  might  infer,  at  first  sight,  that  Nabi 
was  a  later  term  than  Roeh  (HKI),  seer  ; '  but  the  meaning  of 
that  passage  must  be  interpreted  by  the  fact  that  Nabi  is  found 
long  before  Samuel's  time,^  whereas  Rock  is  not.  The  verse, 
then,  seems  to  be  a  later  gloss,  inserted  by  the  editor  of  the 
book  to  explain  the  fact  that  Samuel  was  chiefly  known  as  a 

'  "  He  who  is  now  called  Nabt  was  beforetime  called  JRoeL" 
'  Gen.  XX.  7  ;  Num.  xii.  6  ;  Judges  iv.  4,  vi.  8,  &c. 

2 


2  THE   MINOR    PROPHFTS. 

I\oeh,  though  that  title  was  afterwards  superseded  by  the  term 
A'li/i'i,  and  became  ahnost  obsolete.' 

Unfortunately,  the  derivation  of  A^aM  is  highly  uncertain.  It 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  a  genuine  Hebrew  word  at  all, 
and  was  perhaps  borrowed  from  the  Canaanites.  Gesenius, 
indeed,  derives  it  from  W3,  "to  bubble  up";  and  he  thus 
ingeniously  connects  it  with  Nataph  (^IPP),  which  properly 
means  '"to  drop"  but  which  is  used  by  three  prophets  to  sym- 
bolise the  utterance  of  prophecy.'  Fleischer  makes  it  mean 
"spokesman."' 3  Ewald,  too,  connects  it  with  an  Arabic  root 
meaning  "  to  speak  clear  "  ;  but  perhaps  the  Arabic  may  also 
have  borrowed  the  word  from  some  Canaanite  source,  or  may 
simply  have  formed  the  verb  from  the  Hebrew  A'abi* 

The  word  Roeh  indicates  that  the  prophet  is  one  who,  like 
Balaam,  "sees  in  a  trance,  having  his  eyes  open"  ;  one  to  whom 
is  granted  "the  vision  and  the  faculty  Divine"  ;  one  who  has 
been  "illuminated  in  the  eyes  of  his  mind"  ;5  one  who,  amid 
the  darkness  of  the  present,  sees  with  spiritual  intuition  the 
eternal  hopes  of  the  future  ;  one  whose  spirit  is  quick-eared  to 
hear  God's  intimations,  and  who,  being  pure  in  heart,  enjoys  the 
beatitude  of  seeing  God. 

The  word  Chozeh,  "seer,"  has  a  similar  significance.  The 
verb  chazah,  '*  to  see,"  cannot  be  a  mere  synonym  of  raah, 
"  to  see  "  ;  but  in  ordinary  usage  does  not  perceptibly  differ 
from  the  latter  verb  in  sense,  though  it  is  more  poetical.  Chozeh 
occurs  twenty-two  times  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  is  applied  to 
(iad,  Heman,  Iddo,  Hanani,  Asaph,  Jeduthun,  and  Amos.'  It 
occurs  chiefly  in  the  Books  of  Chronicles.  Roeh,  on  the  other 
hand,  occurs  but  ten  times,  and  in  seven  of  these  it  is  used  as 
the  designation  of  Samuel.''     There  can  be  no  great  difference 

'  Samuel  is  himself  called  a  Nahi  in  i  .Sam.  iii.  20  ;  2  Chron.  xxxv.  18. 

»  Micah  ii.  6,  11,  lit.  "  Z)rfci/ yenot."  Ezekiel  xxi.  2,  "Drop  Thy  word 
towards  the  sanctuaries."  Amos  vii.  16,  "  Drop  not  Thy  word  against  tiie 
liouse  of  Israel." 

3  iJclitzsch,  "Die  Genesis"  (3rd  ed.),  p.  634. 

4  Kucnen,  "  The  Prophets  of  Israel,"  p.  42,  Eng.  tr. 

5  Eph.  i.  18,  TTfipwrifffiit'ovQ  roiii;  OiftOtiXfiovi;  hai'oia^  rtfQ  vijwv, 

*  Amos  vii.  11.  The  expression  "The  king's,  "  or  "David's"  Cluzch 
(2  Sam.  xxiv.  11  ;  i  Chron.  xxi.  9,  xxv.  5,  &c.),  does  not  seem  to  imply 
more  than  a  partial  and  accidental  distinction— a  distinction  of  outward 
ofhco,  not  of  inspired  message. 

7  I r.  2 -Sam.  xv.  27,  Zadok  is  called   "  a  seer  "  ;  but   the  words   m.ny  V<e 


GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF   HEBREW   PROPHECY.        3 

between  the  meanings  of  the  two  words,  since  Hanani,  for  in- 
stance, is  called  both  a  Roeh  and  a  Chozeh.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  must  apparently  have  been  i'i'w^  distinction  in  the  popular 
mind,  for  in  i  Chron.  xxix.  29  we  are  told  that  the  acts  of  David 
are  written  in  the  book  of  Samuel  the  Roeh^  and  in  the  book  of 
Nathan  the  Nabi,  and  in  the  book  of  Gad  the  Chozeh.  Both  Roeh 
and  Chozeh,  however,  mean  one  who,  in  the  words  of  Gregory 
of  Nazianzus,  is  "the  initiated  observer  and  interpreter  of  ^he 
great  mysteries." ' 

In  the  Greek  versions  the  word  n-^»of/)//r//e,  "  prophet,"  is  used 
to  render  each  of  these  three  terms.  It  cannot  be  accepted  as 
throwing  any  original  light  upon  the  conception  of  prophecy,  for 
prophecy  was  an  intermittent  phenomenon,  and  this  Greek  name 
did  not  originate  until  long  after  the  voice  of  genuine  pro. 
phecy  had  fallen  silent.  It  is,  however,  valuable  as  expressing 
the  fundamental  view  of  prophetic  functions  which  was  preva- 
lent among  the  learned  Jews  of  Alexandria  three  centuries 
before  Christ. 

A  "prophet,"  in  viodcrn  popular  usage,  means  predominately 
one  who  foretells  the  future — who  predicts  events  which  could 
be  only  known  to  him  by  miraculous  revelation.  By  the  "argu- 
ment from  propJucy  "  is  usually  meant  the  evidence  for  the  Divine 
origin  of  Christianity,  derived  from  the  foreknowledge  exhibited 
by  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  this  argument  re- 
quires a  careful  restatement  if  it  is  to  stand  the  light  of 
modern  criticism.  The  definite  announcement  of  events  yet 
djstant__is  but  .i  ^siaallj^  a  subordinate,7'ancr;W '  bn essential 
part  of  the  prophets  mission.  Elijah  was  a  great  prophet, 
yet  he  uttered  no  prediction  which  did  not  concern  the 
immediate  present ;  unless  his  announcements  of  the  drought 
and  of  the  destiny  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel  be  reckoned  as  predic- 
tions ;  on  the  other  hand,  neither  Samuel  nor  John  the  Baptist, 
though  among  the  greatest  of  the  prophets,  foretold  the  distant 
future.  The  attempts  to  declare  the  issues  of  the  future 
belonged  rather  to  the  priests  with  their  Urim  and  Thum- 
mim,  which  would  not  have  become  obsolescent  unless  it  had 
fallen   into  suspicion  and  contempt.     The  prophets  were   no 

rendered  "  Seest  t/wu  ?"  and  the  LXX.,  following  another  reading,  renders 
it  "See."  Wellliausen  reads  L*'N"I  for  ^X^>  and  renders  it  "  Zadok  the 
C'/4/V/ Priest." 


4  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

mere  augurs  or  monthly  prognosticators.  The  work  for  which 
they  were  called  was  nobler  and  more  Divine  ;  and  when  that 
work  was  sketched  out  to  them  in  the  hour  of  their  call,  the 
power  of  definite  prediction  is  not  dwelt  upon.'  They  were 
statesmen,  they  were  moral  teachers,  they  were  spiritual  guides. 
The  connotation  which  makes  the  word  "prophecy"  identical 
with  "  prediction  "  is  partly  due  to  a  false  etymology,  npo^i'/n/f 
is  not  derived  from  Trpo(paii'ui,  "  I  reveal,"  but  from  wpo  and  ^ij/it 
and  the  preposition  irpd  in  this  compound  did  not  originally 
mean  "  beforehand."  A  prophet  is  not  so  much  a  "foreteller" 
as  a  "  forth-teller."  The  Greek  word  means  one  who  ititerprcts 
another,  and  especially  one  who  is  an  interpreter  of  God.  This 
is  the  proper  and  all  but  invariable  meaning  of  the  word  in 
classic  Greek.  "  Apollo,"  says  /Eschylus,  '•  is  the  prophei  of 
Zeus" — in  other  words,  he  interprets  the  decrees  of  Zeus. 
Similarly,  Euripides  calls  Orpheus  the  prophet  of  Bacchus,  and 
Glaucus  the  prophet  of  Nereus  ;  and  the  Pythian  priests  and 
priestesses  were  called  "prophets,"  because  they  explained  the 
rapt  utterances  of  the  seers  (yudvrsic),  who  spoke  in  ecstasy.  So, 
too,  the  poets  are  called  interpreters.  "  Utter  thy  strains,  oh 
Muse,"  says  Pindar,  "and  I  will  be  thy  prophet."^ 

How  completely  this  meaning,  and  not  that  of  vaticination, 
is  predominant  in  the  Scriptures,  is  clear  from  Exodus  vii.  i,  2. 
"  See,  1  have  made  thee  a  god  to  Pharaoh,  and  Aaron  thy  bro- 
ther shall  be  thy  prophet  " — in  other  words,  "  thy  interpreter  "  ; 
or  (as  it  is  expressed  in  Exodus  iv.  16)  "  he  shall  be  thy  spokes- 
man unto  the  people,  and  he  shall  be  to  thee  a  mouth.'"  And 
God  says  to  Jeremiah  (Jer.  xv.  19),  "Thou  shalt  be  as  My 
mouth."  Nor  is  this  point  of  view  superseded  even  in  the 
Apocrypha  and  the  New  Testament.  In  Gen.  xx.  7  Abrahan\ 
is  called  "a  prophet,"  though  it  was  not  his  function  to  pre- 
dict, but  he  was  like  Noah,  "a  preacher  of  righteousness" 
(2  Peter  ii.  5)  and  "  a  friend  of  God."  And  though  the  wisdom 
which  can  see  the  future  in  the  germs  of  the  present  is  so 
naturally  an  endowment  of  the  illuminated  soul  that  definite 
prediction — almost  always  of  events  already  upon  the  horizon- 
js  uoi  excluded  from  the  sphere  of  a  prophet's  work  ;  yet  it  is  clear, 

"  Isa.  vi.  10-13  '<  J"^""-  '•  '7~i9'  ^''-  i~34i  <^c.  It  will,  of  course,  be 
observed  that  the  general  denunciations  of  doom,  based  on  moral  laws  uf 
retribution,  are  wholly  different  from  specific  predictions. 

»  Pind.,  Fr.  118,  lV1«i'7-»i''60  MoWfr,  irpfxpinftaw  S'  fyw. 


GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS   OF  HEBREW  FROPHECV.        t 

both  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Epistles,  that  the 
prophets  of  the  New  Testament  were,  in  the  main,  and  some  of 
them  exclusively,  moral  and  spiritual  teachers.'  Prophets  play 
a  large  part  in  the  recently-discovered  "  Teaching  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles  "  ;  but,  though  these  are  mentioned  fifteen  times,  no 
hint  is  there  given  that  they  ever  pretended,  or  were  expected 
to  foretell  things  to  come. 

But  it  may  be  said,  "Is  not  the  verification  of  predictions 
made  the  actual  test  of  a  prophet's  mission  in  Deut.  xviii.  9-22  ?" 
I  answer — not  in  the  sense  required  by  those  who  regard  pre- 
diction as  the  essential  of  a  prophet's  mission.  [  will  net  here 
dwell  on  the  growing  belief  that  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  is, 
to  a  large  extent,  a  work  much  later  than  the  days  of  Moses, 
but  I  will  merely  observe  that  two  criteria  are  furnished 
to  the  people.  Of  these  the  first  is  exclusively  moral.  If 
the  prophet  incites  to  idolati-y  he  is  to  be  stoned,  even  if  his 
predictions  are  fulfilled.  The  second  test  expressly  implies  that 
he  will  speak  of  things  already  on  the  horiaon,  and  such  as  may 
enable  his  message  to  be  tested  in  his  own  lifetime,  and  at  no 
distant  interval.  And  plainly  in  this  passage  the  point  in  view 
is  the  verification  by  experience  of  moral  or  spiritual  exhorta- 
tions, or  the  occurrence  of  promised  signs  (Deut.  xiii.  i,  2), 
while  a  marked  distinction  is  made  between  "prophets"  and 
"soothsayers."  God,  as  Amos  says  (iii.  7),  "reveals  His 
secret  counsel  to  His  servants  the  prophets" ;  but  that  ''  secret 
counsel"  is  the  moral  interpretation  of  God's  method  of  exalting 
and  punishing  men  and  nations,  not  a  revelation  of  times  and 
seasons  and  events,  which  an  eternal  law,  except  on  the  rarest 
occasions,  beneficently  shrouds  in  the  midnight  of  uncertainty. 

Even  in  English  the  word  "  prophet  "  had  once  a  wider  sense 
than  in  its  modern  and  popular  acceptance.  The  meetings  of 
the  clergy,  in  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  were  called  pro- 
phesyi?tgs'  though  they  were  only  ordinary  religious  exercises 
which  Bacon  describes  as  consisting  of  Scripture  exposition  and 
prayer.3  When  Jeremy  Taylor  gave  to  his  famous  book  the 
♦^itle  "  The  Liberty  of  Prophesying,"  he  merely  meant  thereby 

'  Besides  Agabus,  who  did  foretell  events  which  were  already  close  at 
hand  (."^cts  xi.  28  ;  xxi.  10,  11),  Barnabas,  iSimeon  Niger,  Lucius  of  Cyrene, 
Manaen,  and  Saul  are  called  prophets  (xiii.  1-4),  and  the  daughters  of 
Philip  prophetesses  (xxi.  9). 

'  Hallain.  "  Const.  Hi\t."  i.  ch.  4..         '^  "  Pacification  of  the  Church." 


6  THE  MINOR    PROniETS. 

"  the  freedom  of  preaching."  And  in  point  of  fact  the  Hebrew 
prophets  were  like  an  order  of  independent  clergy  side  by  side 
with,  and  most  frequently  in  deadly  antagonism  against,  the 
priestly  caste,  and  the  conventional  multitude  of  their  own  pro- 
fessional brethren.' 

But  though  prediction  is  not  necessarily  involved  either  in 
the  Hebrew,  the  (ireek,  or  the  English  names  for  "prophet," 
it  is  constantly  implied  that  the  prophet,  by  virtue  of  his  more 
general  insight  and  inspiration,  could  sometimes  foretell  events 
which  were  as  yet  unobserved  by  the  eyes  of  the  multitude  ;^ 
and  in  one  or  two  instances  false  prophets  are  even  challenged 
to  produce  any  fulfilled  prediction  as  the  credential  of  their 
authority.'  Yet  it  needs  but  to  take  in  hand  the  entire 
writings  of  the  prophets  to  see  that  anything  resembling 
that  sort  of  minute  aud  detailed  descriptioi  of  future  ei'ents, 
of  which  the  Book  of  Daniel  would  be  a  specimen,  if  Daniel 
were  its  author,  is  conspicuous  by  its  absence.  The  tra- 
ditional notions  about  prophecy  drop  to  pieces  when  the 
extant  writings  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  are  approached 
historically,  instead  of  being  read  in  a  fragmentary,  conven- 
tional, and  a  priori  manner.  The  "  burdens  "  or  "  oracles  " 
of  the  prophets  on  heathen  nations,  and  their  denuncia- 
tions of  their  own  countrymen  are  based  on  the  unchange- 
able verities  of  the  Divine  government.  They  were  always 
fulfilled  in  the  spirit,  and,  in  the  general  idea,  because  they 
were  founded  on  moral  certainties  ;  but  in  the  letter,  and  in 
minor  details,  they  are  not  insisted  on. 

Further,  nothing  is  more  clear  than  the  fact,  that  in  most 
instances  the  prophets  themselves,  even  when  they  make  no 
verbal  reservation,  did  not  regard  these  denunciations  as  ab- 
solute, but  as  conditional  ;  not  as  exceptionless,  but  as  partial  ; 
not  as  supernaturally  predictive,  but  as  the  illustration  of 
eternal  principles  which  God  had  specially  brought  home  to 
them.    Their  menace  always  implied  an  ^'ufi/ess."    This  is  most 

■  Dr.  Fayne  Smith,  in  his  "  Banipton  Lectures,"  regards  the  ordinary 
netiim  and  "sons  of  the  prophets  "  as  corresponding  to  our  "  ministry"  ; 
but  he  elevates  the  greater  and  more  isolated  prophets  to  a  wholly  different 
position.  Yet  the  Scripture  history  shows  clearly  that  they  were  only  dif- 
ferentiated from  the  "false"  prophets  and  the  common  herd  of  prophet* 
by  their  jxivver  and  faithfulness,  not  \y\  their  position. 

»  Deut.  xviii.  22  ;  Jer.  xxviii.  9.  3  Isa.  xliii.  9  ;  xhv.  7,  25-28,  &c. 


GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS   OF   HEBREW   PROPHECY.       ^ 

forcibly  illustrated  by  the  Book  of  Jonah.  His  message  was 
plain  and  unlimited,  "Yet  forty  days,  and  Nineveh  shall  be 
destroyed."  Yet  he  had  all  along  felt  a  misgiving  that  God's 
mercy  would  avert  the  threatened  doom.  Forty  days  elapsed, 
and  Nineveh  was  not  destroyed.  Was  Jonah,  then,  by  the 
criterion  of  Deuteronomy  (xviii.  22)  a  false  prophet.?  No  !  In 
almost  every  prophetic  message  there  was  the  subauditur  that 
the  consequences  might  be  averted  if  the  causes  were  cut  off. 
Similarly  Ezekiel  prophesied,  in  B.C.  586,  that  the  nations  led 
by  Nebuchadnezzar  which  were  advancing  against  Tyre,  should 
sweep  away  her  dust,  and  reduce  her  to  a  bare  rock  (Ezek. 
xxvi.  14),  and  that  she  should  not  again  be  built,  "  for  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it"  (vers.  11-14)  ;  and  he  says  no  word  about 
mitigation  or  delay.  Yet,  though  Nebuchadnezzar  besieged 
Tyre  for  thirteen  years,  there  is  no  proof  at  all,  either  from 
.Scripture  or  from  the  monuments,  that  he  captured  it.  That 
he  in  no  sense  made  it  a  desolation  is  certain,  for  we  know  that 
for  centuries  afterwards  it  continued  to  be  a  noble  and  wealthy 
city.  Nay,  more,  perhaps  sixteen  years  later  Ezekiel  seems  to 
correct  his  own  prophecy  in  a  postscript,  added  when  the  book 
was  edited  (xxix.  17-21),  in  which  it  seems  to  be  implied  that 
the  siege  of  Tyre  had  practically  failed,  and  that  God  had  given 
Egypt  to  Nebuchadnezzar  instead  of  Tyre.  Was  Ezekiel,  then, 
a  false  prophet?  No !  But  the  prophets  were  set  to  deal  with 
general  principles  and  broad  issues,  not,  as  a  rule,  with  the 
minutice  of  detailed  vaticination.' 

Another  very  striking  proof  of  the  principle  here  inculcated — 
a  principle  which  has  been,  by  most  writers,  and  until  recent 
times,  entirely  overlooked — is  furnished  to  us  by  the  remarkable 
trial  recorded  for  us  by  Jeremiah."^  Infuriated  by  his  prophecy 
of  the  utter  destruction  of  the  Temple,  the  princes  arrested 
him,  and,  combining  with  the  priests  and  prophets — for  isola- 
tion and  unpopularity  were  the  all  but  invariable  consequences 
then  as  now,  of  a  prophet's  faithfulness — they  denounced  him 
to  all  the  people  as  worthy  of  a  traitor's  death,  because  he  had 
uttered  such  stern  and  ill-omened  words.  Jeremiah  tells  them 
that  they  can  slay  him  if  they  will,  but  they  will  only  bring 
innocent  blood  upon  the  city  and  upon  themselves.  The 
princes  and  the  people  admitted  his  plea  ;  but,  as  a  matter 
of   course,    the    priests    and   prophets   remained  implacable 

'  See  Kuenen,  I.e.,  pp.  106-111.  '  Jer.  xxvi.  1-24. 


8  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

because  no  hatred  is  so  bitter  as  that  of  the  professors  of  a 
false  orthodoxy  against  one  of  their  own  body  who  dares  to 
speak  the  truth.  He  found  powerful  protectors  in  Ahikam,  the 
son  of  Shaphan,  and  certain  of  the  elders.  They  deplored,  as 
a  crime,  the  murder  of  Urijah  by  Jehoiakim,  and  they  ap- 
pealed to  the  precedent  set  by  good  King  Hezekiah  in  the 
case  of  Micah.  Micah  had  prophesied  that  Zion  would 
become  heaps,  and  the  Temple  hill  a  waste.'  He  had  delivered 
this  message  in  the  most  unreserved  and  emphatic  manner 
as  the  direct  message  of  Jehovah,  and  he  had  not  given  any 
hint  that  the  judgment  would  be  averted.  Yet  it  had  been 
absolutely  averted,  and  the  city  was  still  standing  a  century 
later.  He  had  meant,  and  had  been  universally  understood 
to  mean,  that  the  doom  would  fall  at  once.  Was  he,  then, 
a  false  prophet.''  By  no  means.  Hezekiah  had  repented,  and 
the  menace  in  consequence  fell  naturally  to  the  ground.  "The 
Lord  repented  Him  of  the  evil  which  He  had  pronounced 
against  them.""  Indeed,  Jeremiah  himself  lays  down  this 
general  principle  in  the  broadest  manner  :  "  If  that  nation, 
against  whom  I  have  pronounced,  turn  from  their  evil,  I  will 
repent  of  the  evil  tliat  I  thought  to  do  unto  them."  ^ 

In  general,  then,  it  is  of  the  deepest  importance,  for  any 
genuine  comprehension  of  the  prophets  in  their  real  grandeur, 
to  see  that  they  were  preachers  of  righteousness,  statesmen  and 
patriots,  enlightened  to  teach  to  an  ever-aposLatizing  nation — 

"  What  makes  a  nation  great,  and  keeps  it  so, 
What  ruins  kingdoms,  and  lays  cities  flat." 

They  were  "messengers  of  Jehovah"  (Hag.  i.  13),  "men  (f 
God"  (i  Sam.  ii.  27),  "  men  of  the  Spirit  "  (IIos.  ix.  7).  They 
uttered  "the  word  of  Jehovah,"  "what  Jehovah  sailh."  In 
all  their  deepest  announcements  they  could  say,  with  an 
•ilmost  oppressive  consciousness  of  responsibility,  "  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  is  upon  me."  There  was  a  sense  in  which 
"  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets,"  as  Moses  had  de- 
sired that  they  should  be,  when  Joshua,  with  alTcctionate 
jealousy,  would  fain  have  checked  the  voices  of  E.ldad  and 
Medad.  The  greatest  prophets  looked  forward  to  a  time  when, 
as  Joel  prophesied,  Jehovah  would  "  pour  out  His  .Spirit  upon 
all   llosh  "  ;    and  when,   in  the  aspiration  of  Jeremiah,  "They 

'  Mic.  iii.  xa,  '  Jer.  .xxvl.  19.  3  Jer.  xviii.  3 


GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS   OF    HEBREW   PROPHECY.       9 

shall  no  more  teach  every  man  his  neighbour,  and  every  man 
his  brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord ;  for  all  shall  know  Me 
from  the  least  to  the  greatest."  But  until  that  day  should 
come  the  prophets  rightly  felt  themselves  to  be  the  special  and 
divinely  appointed  warners  and  teachers  of  their  people.  They 
echoed  in  more  articulate  voices  the  rolling  thunders  of  Sinai. 
"  I  am  full  of  power,"  says  Micah,  "  even  the  spirit  of  Jehovah, 
of  judgment,  and  of  might,  to  declare  unto  Jacob  his  trans- 
gression, and  to  Israel  his  sin."  '  And  naturally  these  voices 
were  most  often  the  voices  of  lamentation,  mourning,  and  woe. 
Falling  on  evil  times,  their  commonest  prophecies  were  threats 
of  war,  calamity,  and  pestilence.  So  rarely  did  they  say, 
"  Peace,  peace,"  that,  in  the  words  of  Jeremiah,  the  test  of 
a  prophet  who  did  so  could  only  be  the  actual  fulfilment  of  his 
words.^ 

Had  prediction  been  the  main  note  of  a  prophet,  there  would 
have  been  an  absurdity  in  the  notion  that  they  could  be  trained 
to  read  the  secrets  of  the  future,  which  God's  mercy  and  provi- 
dence has  shrouded  in  darkness.  Such  training  could  only  have 
assumed  the  form  of  mechanical  superstition  as  empty  as  that 
which  made  it  strange,  as  Cicero  says,  that  two  augurs  should 
meet  without  laughing  in  each  other's  face.  Yet  even  as 
early  as  the  days  of  Samuel  we  find  the  prophets  living 
together  at  places  like  Naioth,  Gilgal,  Ramah,  and  Bethel,  in 
coenobitic  communities.^  They  live  and  move  about  in  bands. 
Speaking  and  dancing  to  the  shrill  strains  of  music,  they  are 
sometimes  swayed  by  a  contagious  excitement,  which  recalls  the 
foaming  lip  and  the  streaming  hair  of  the  Greek  //aiTif,''  or  the 
wild  gestures  and  deathful  collapse  of  the  Mohammedan  der- 
vishes. These  movements  of  uncontrollable  fanaticism  among 
the  youths  trained  in  the  schools  of  the  prophets,  may  have  been 
stimulated  by  the  circumstances  of  their  nation,  and  specially, 
in  the  first  instance,  by  the  indignant  patriotism  which  was 
called  into  life  by  the  oppression  of  the  Philistines  and  other 
surrounding  tribes.  The  greatest  prophets  did  not  rise,  how- 
ever, from  these  colleges,  and  even  held  aloof  from  them. 
Elijah  belonged  to  no  school  of  the  prophets  ;  and  though 
.Samuel  and  Elisha  seem  partly  to  have  lived  with  such  schof  Is, 
Nathan,  Gad,  Ahijah,  Jehu  ben  Hanani,  and  others,  were  as 

'  Mic.  iii.  8.  '  Jer.  .xxviii.  9.  3  i  Sam.  x.  5  ;  xix.  20. 

■*  Uetivttd  by  rialu  from  /jitiyonai,  "  I  am  maJ." 


IC  Tin-:    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

innependent  of  them  as  Amos  and  the  majority  of  the  prophets 
whose  writings  are  found  in  our  Sacred  Canon. 

But  though  outward  signs  of  passionate  emotion  accompanied 
the  impulse  of  the  prophetic  spirit,  the  notion  introduced  into 
theology  by  Philo — that  the  prophets  naturally  delivered  every- 
thing in  a  condition  of  ecstasy  and  trance— must  be  abandoned 
as  unscriptural  and  false.'  Two  reasons  may  have  help«xl  the 
acceptance  of  this  delusion — one  that  the  hurried  and  impetuous 
action  of  the  prophets  sometimes  left  an  impression  of  mad- 
ness ;  ^  the  other  that  there  were  false  prophets  as  well  as  true, 
and  these  prophets,  misled  by  greed  and  self-deception,  and 
even  falling  under  the  influence  of  spirits  which  were  not  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord,  may  have  simulated  the  frenzy  of  inspiration 
as  they  borrowed  the  hairy  garment  and  leathern  girdle,  which 
became  the  outward  signs  of  a  prophet  from  the  days  of  Elijah 
down  wards. 3  But  so  far  as  all  the  great  prophets  are  concerned, 
and  all  whose  written  words  have  been  preserved,  we  see 
that  there  was  no  spell  upon  them  which  absorbed  or  anni- 
hilated their  human  individuality.  (3n  the  contrary,  ail  that 
they  say  is  said  in  the  most  careful,  and  often  in  an  elaborately 
artistic  form.  Their  poems  are  as  different  as  possible  from  the 
wild,  rude  utterances  of  half-frenzied  persons.  They  are  written 
in  elaborate  parallelisms,  in  careful  strophe  andantistrophe,  and 
even  in  some  instances  in  an  alliterative  form.  Philo  borrowed 
his  theory,  not  from  Scripture,  but  exclusively  from  Plato,  and 
it  has  been  fruitful  of  error  and  superstition.  The  Hebrew 
prophets  were  as  unlike  as  possible  to  the  Phrygian  Montanists, 
or  to  those  Christian  brawlers  who  gave  themselves  up  to  the 
maddening  enthusiasm  of  glossolaly.  Elisha  expressly  sent  for 
a  minstrel  to  calm  and  control  the  tumult  of  his  spirit. ■*  The 
spirits  of  the  prophets,  as  St.  Paul  says,  "  are  subject  to  the 
prophets."  ^  The  Divine  does  not  supersede  the  human,  but 
dilates  and  elevates  it.  Inspiration  is  neither  inlallibility,  nor 
verbal  dictation,  nor  abnormal  miracle,  nor — to  quote  the 
favourite  metaphor  of  Montanus — the  playing  of  the  Spirit 
upon  the  harp  of  man's  being  as  upon  a  passive  instrument  : 


»  Philo,  "  Quis  rer.  div.  haer."  52.     "  De  Proem,  et  poen,"  9.     See  Sieg- 
fried, "  Philo,  "  p.  322.     Comp.  Josephus,  "  Antiq.,"  iv.  6,  §  5. 
*  2  Rings  i.v.  11  ;  Hos.  ix.  7  ;  John  ix.  20  ;  Acts  xxvi.  24 ;  i  Cor.  xiv.  23. 
3  Zcch.  xiii.  4.  *  2  Kings  iii.  15.  s  i  Cor.  xiv.  32. 


GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS   OF   HEBREW   PROPHECY.      II 

it  is  ;he  inmost  harmony  of  the  spirit  of  man  with  the  Spirit  of 
God  within  the  sphere  of  human  limitations.' 

As  statesmen,  the  prophets  were  intensely  practical,  admitting 
no  distinction  between  the  laws  of  national  and  individual 
morality,  recognizing  in  the  law  of  righteousness  the  one  basis 
of  all  political  truth.  As  patriots,  they  sympathized  with  the 
wretched  multitude.  Though  sometimes  of  royal  birth,  like 
Isaiah,  and  sometimes  members  of  priestly  families,  like  Jere- 
miah and  Ezekiel,  they  pleaded  against  oppression,  robbery,  and 
wrong,  braving  the  anger  of  corrupted  multitudes,  reproving 
the  crimes  of  guilty  kings.  They  sometimes  acted  as  tribunes 
of  the  people.  Like  Moses,  Samuel,  Nathan,  Gad,  Isaiah, 
and  Jeremiah,  they  boldly  rebuked  the  vices  of  their  sovereigns, 
and  their  courage  in  fulfilling  this  high  task  was  all  the  greater 
because  they  were  not  protected  by  the  sacrosanct  inviolability 
which  hedged  round  the  tribunes  of  Rome.  But  the  prophet  was 
no  demagogue,  even  when,  hke  Amos,  he  sprang  from  the  hum- 
blest of  the  people.  He  had  to  alienate  the  blind  multitude, 
while  he  confronted  the  iniquity  of  their  rulers.  He  denounced 
in  burning  words  the  luxury  and  tyranTiy  of  the  rich,  but  was 
no  less  strenuous  in  his  warring  against  the  vices,  follies,  and 
passions  of  the  poor. 

Three  characteristics  mark  the  efforts  and  position  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets. 

I.  First,  we  must  place  the  heroic  faith  which  looks  beyond 
the  little  grandeurs  and  transitory  aims  of  the  average  man. 
MoST'  men  shrink  from  braving  danger,  exposing  falsehood, 
fighting  against  wrong.  They  swim  with  the  stream.  They 
spread  their  sails  to  the  veering  wind.  They  look  on  success  as 
the  end  of  living,  and  on  popularity  as  the  test  of  truth.  Not 
so  the  prophets.  Their  vision  pierced  beyond  the  vain  shows 
and  passing  pageantry  of  life.  In  Egypt,  Syria,  Assyria, 
Babylon,  Persia,  Rome,  they  only  saw  in  outline  dim  and  vast 

"  The  giant  forms  of  empires  on  their  way 
To  ruin." 

Kings,  priests,  mobs,  were  but  weak  men  ;  that  which  was 

'  Tertullian  ("C.  Marc."  iv.  22)  protests  against  the  views  of  Montanus, 
and  Miltiades  wrote  a  book — no  longer  extant — ntpi  rnv  jut)  ^«j'  npofrjTTjv 
IV  tKffTaaei  \aXih'.      Comp  ,  too,  Chrys.  "  Hom.  in  Cor.  xxix." 


12  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

arrogantly  paraded  as  the  majesty  of  public  opinion  meant  to 
them  but  the  shout  of  the  noisiest  and  the  vote  of  the  most 
ignorant  ;  they  believed  that  "  one  with  God  is  always  in  a 
majority"  ;  they  "swallowed  formulae  "  ;  tliey  flung  to  the  winds 
the  false  types  of  gootlness,  and  the  false  types  of  orthodoxy 
which  satisfied  the  somnolent  average  of  religious  teachers  in 
their  day  ;  they  would  not  deceive  for  reward  or  promotion  ; 
they  would  not  lie  for  God.  One  form  of  summons  might  have 
served  to  describe  their  common  call  and  lifelong  martyrdom  : 
"  Gird  thy  loins  and  arise,  and  speak  unto  them  ...  be  not 
dismayed  at  their  faces  .  .  .  behold  I  have  made  thee  a 
fenced  city,  an  iron  pillar,  and  brazen  wall  against  the  whole 
land — against  the  kings,  against  the  princes,  against  the  priests, 
against  the  people.  .  .  .  And  they  shall  fight  against  thee,  but 
they  shall  not  prevail  against  thee  ;  for  I  am  with  thee,  saith 
the  Lord." 

II.  Secondly,  the  prophets  are  the  most  conspicuous  teachers 
of  spiritual  religion.'  In  the  happy  phrase  of  Professor  Kuenen 
"  Ethical  Monotheism "  is  the  main,  as  it  is  the  inestimably 
precious,  contribution  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  to  the  spiritual 
advance  and  eternal  elevation  of  the  race.  The  priests,  ab- 
sorbed in  visible  functions,  were  liable  to  a  twofold  danger  ; 
on  the  one  hand,  they  might  easily  fail  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  high  essential  service  due  to  God,  and  the  ritual 
functions  which  were  equally  acceptable  to  Baal  ;  on  the 
other,  they  might  sink,  as  in  age  after  age  they  have  sunk, 
into  the  subtler  idolatry  of  formalism.  They  failed  to  appre- 
hend t'hat  the  one  end  and  aim  of  religion  is  righteousness  ; 
that  a  religion  consisting  e.xclusively  of  ceremonies,  a  religion 
divorced  from  morality,  is  no  religion  at  all.  It  is  the  protest 
against  this  idolatry  of  the  outward  function  which  marks  the 
theology  of  the  prophets.  "  Behold,  obedience  is  better  than 
sacrifice,  and  to  hearken  than  the  fat  of  ra7ns^'  said  Samuel. 
"  I  despise  your  feast  days,  and  will  not  smell  in  your  solemn 
assemblies^'  was  the  message  of  the  Lord  by  Amos.  "  I  desired 
mercy  and  not  sacrifice,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  more  than 
hurnt-offerifigs^'  said  Hosea,  in  words  which  our  Lord  loved 
to  cjuote.  "  What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,"  asks  Micah," 
"  but  to  do  justly  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy 

•  Deut.  xviii.  9-18. 


GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF   HEBREW  PROPHECY.      Ij 

Codf^'  "■  Bring  no  mare  vain  oblatiotts,'"  says  Isaiah  ;  "but  wash 
you — make  you  clean,  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings  frotn 
before  Mine  eyes."  "  The  just,''  says  Habakkuk,  in  words 
which  were  the  keynote  of  ^e  theology  of  St.  Paul,  "  shall  live 
by  faith.''  Thus  did  the  prophets,  one  after  another,  make 
light  of  the  pompous  religionism  of  offerings  and  ceremonial, 
and  anticipate  the  teaching  of  the  Son  of  God  :  "  AW  every  one 
that  saith  unt-o  Me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  My  Father  which  is  in 
heaven." 

III.  If  the  prophets  had  delivered  no  other  message  than 
this — that  righteousness  is  the  test  of  sincerity — they  would 
have  done  a  mighty  work.  And  in  this  sense  Israel  became  a 
prophetic  nation,  for  its  sole  significance  in  history  is  that  it 
upheld  to  the  ancient  world  the  banner  of  righteousness.  But 
a  third  and  most  precious  characteristic  of  the_  niission  of  the 
prophets^  the  steady,  inextinguishable  spirit  of  hope  which 
animated  them  amid  the  direst  catastrophes  of  their  people,  and 
which  gleams  out  amid  their  stormiest  predictions  of  retribution 
and  woe.  Even  in  abasement  their  horizon  is  always  luminous 
with  the  certainty  of  victory.  As  each  of  them  could  person- 
ally say,  "  Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall 
fruit  be  in  the  vines  ;  the  labour  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and 
the  fields  shall  ;y'eld  no  food  :  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from 
the  fold,  and  there  shall  be  ho  herd  in  the  stalls  :  yet  I  will 
rejoice  in  the  Lord^I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation  ;  "  so 
they  could  always  point  to  the  bow  cf  mercy  amid  the  wildest 
storm  of  ruin.  And  this  hope  spreads  outward  in  ever-widening 
circles.  Even  when  the  prophecies  of  Israel's  destruction  seem 
to  be  most  sweeping,  it  is  always  intimated  that  Israel  shall 
not  utterly  be  destroyed.  The  conviction  of  the  prophet  is 
that  evinced  by  Isaiah  when  he  called  one  of  his  sons  Shear- 
[ashub — a  remnant  shall  be  left.  And  the  hope  for  all  Israel 
becomes  more  and  more  clearly  a  hope  for  all  mankind.  The 
ultimate  and  most  decisive  declaration  of  Hebrew  prophecy  is, 
"  The  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall 
see  it  tog&ther,  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it."  God 
was,  for  them,  ah*  ays  in  the  meridian  ;  a  Sun  that  knew  no 
setting.  Trust  in  Him  involved  a  universality  of  Promise  for 
the  whole  race  of  which  He  is  the  Father  in  Heaven.  Grander, 
more  Divine  than  any  mere  congruities  of  dates  and  details,  was 


14  THK   MrNOR    PROPHETS. 

the  faith  which  l>elievecl  that  there  was  all  the  certainty  of  a 
law  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  goodness  and  of  truth. 

W.  And  this  hope,  which  sometimes  seems  to  fill  their  pages 
with  Divine  contradictions,  centres  more  and  more  brightly, 
more  and  more  definitely,  in  a  Divine  person,  an  Anointed 
Deliverer,  a  coming  Saviour  for  all  mankind.  And  thus  pro- 
phecy is  the  pervading  and  central  element  of  the  whole  sacred 
canon.  "  As  we  watch  the  weaving  of  the  web  of  Hebrew  life, 
we  endeavour  to  trace  through  it  the  more  conspicuous  t. .reads. 
I.ong  time  the  eye  follows  the  crimson  ;  it  disappears  at  length  ; 
but  the  golden  thread  of  sacred  prophecy  stretches  to  the  end." 
So  true  is  the  great  saying  of  the  Apostle,  that  "  //w  testimony 
flf  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy."  The  Messianic  hope,  and 
the  trust  in  God  by  which  it  was  inspired  and  continued,  is  the 
richest  legacy  of  the  piophets  to  all  after  ages.  They  point  us 
to  a  Priest  upon  His  throne,  to  a  Man  as  a  hiding-place  from 
the  wind,  a  covert  from  the  tempest,  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock 
in  a  weary  land.  And  in  the  certain  advent  of  that  Divine 
Redeemer — beyond  the  sins  and  confusions  of  Israel,  beyond 
the  anarchy  and  moral  chaos  of  the  world — they  saw,  as  it 
were,  the  body  of  heaven  in  its  clearness,  the  vision  of  the 
Perfect  Man,  the  vision  of  the  Perfect  God. 

"Heralds  of  inexorable  judgment  based  on  demands  of  abso- 
lute righteousness" — they  were  at  the  same  time  forerunners 
of  the  Gospel,  and  thus  they  were  enabled  to  accept,  as  a  dim, 
unexplained  postulate  of  faith,  the  very  restoration  which  at 
times  their  own  words  seem  absolutely  to  exclude. 

Thus  it  is  as  true  of  Israel  as  of  us,  that  "they  were  saved 
by  hope."  And  it  is  deeply  instructive,  if  also  deeply  painful 
to  observe,  that  in  the  decadence  of  the  nation  this  hope  aies 
away,  and  dies  away  in  exact  proportion  to  the  growth  of 
priestly  formalism  :  until  at  last  in  the  hour  when  outward 
scrupulosity  and  pom|)Ous  ritual  and  burdensome  letter-worship 
reached  its  zenith  in  the  exaltation  of  the  Pharisees,  in  that 
same  hour  priests  and  Pharisees  killed  the  Lord  of  Glory,  and 
.Scribes  were  not  wanting  who  were  content  to  ret  i\-'nize  the 
promised  Messiah  in  an  Iduma'an  alien,  a  corrupt  and  blood- 
stained despot,  like  Herod  the  Great.  The  star  of  Messianic 
hope  was  kindled  when  man  lost  Paradise;  it  burned  brightly 
in  Moses  ;  waxing  and  waning,  it  once  more  shed  unwonted 
lustre   over   llie    as.piratiuns    of  the    I'talmists  ;    in    Isaiah    it 


GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS   OF   HEBREW   PROPHECY.      15 

reached  its  fullest  and  most  unclouded  splendour  ;  it  shone  less 
brightly  in  Ezekiel  and  his  post-gJiilic  successors  ;  in  the  inter-  J  f»4*j 
space  between  the  two  dispensations  it  waned  into  the  blurred 
and  twinkling  glow  of  a  vague,  national  abstraction,  until  at 
last  it  hardly  existed  except  in  the  breast  of  the  Prophet  of  the 
Wilderness  ;  and  after  becoming  for  ages  little  more  than  a 
formula  among  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion,  it  is  now  avowedly 
set  aside  by  many  Rabbis  as  a  metaphor  or  a  delusion.  It  was 
reserved  for  Christian  insight  to  see  that  the  whole  life  of  Israel 
is  in  some  sense  a  Messianic  prophecy  ;  that  their  Law  was,  as 
Tertullian  s-a.)'^, gravida  Christi;  and  that  of  Christ  even  when 
they  knew  it  not,  all  the  prophets  spoke. 

As  the  prophecy  of  that  Deliverer  belonged  to  the  inmost 
essence  of  Judaism,  so  the  history  of  His  great,  eternal, 
continuous  redemption  is  the  inmost  essence  of  the  faith.  The 
prophets  all  looked  forward  to  Him  with  glorious  yearning  ;  the 
Apostles  rejoice  in  the  plenitude  of  His  promised  presence 
with  peace  and  love  ;  the  Christian  world  looks  back  to  His 
earthly  ministry,  and  upwards  to  His  Divine  exaltation.  And 
thus  the  whole  structure  of  the  Church  of  God  is  built  upon  the 
foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  Himself 
being  the  chief  corner-stone. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE  WRITINGS  OF  THE  PROPHETSL 

*'  Ventiqu<ittro  seniori,  a  due  a  due, 
Coronati  venian  di  fiordaliso." 

Dante   "  Purg."  xxix.  83. 

The  propb.cts  as  authors — Amos— Written  and  spokenUprophecy — Style  of 
the  prophets  —  Their  fragmentary  preservation — Their  subsequent 
publication— What  is  meam  by  "Minor"  Prophets— The  reformers 
of  Judaism — Use  of  the  Minor  Prophets  in  the  New  Testament. 

So  far  we  have  considered  the  general  characteristics  of  Hebrew 
prophecy,  and  endeavoured  to  clear  away  some  of  the  one- 
sided conceptions  which  obscure  the  true  view  of  the  work 
of  the  prophets.  We  will  now  consider  the  writings  of  these 
great  teachers  as  they  are  preserved  for  us  in  the  sacred  page. 

The  functions  of  the  prophets  as  aufhors  wtrt  secondary,  and 
rose  from  later  circumstances.  Originally  and  primarily  the 
prophet  was  an  orator,  a  preacher  to  the  people.  The  mighty 
agency  for  good  exercised  by  such  leaders  of  men  as  Samuel, 
Elijah,  and  Elisha,  was  carried  out  exclusively  by  the  living 
Voice.  They  spoke  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
His  influence  was  strong  within  them;  while  they  were 
musing  the  fire  burned,  and  at  last  they  spake  with  their 
tongue.  But  as  the  times  altered  and  life  became  more 
complex  the  propliet  was  compelled  to  write,  and  perpetuate 
his  messages,  and  so  to  put  them  beyond  the  power  of  in- 
triguing priests  or  hostile  kings  to  suppress.'  It  was  thus  that 
Jeremiah  gave  permanence  to  the  orations  which  the  impotent 
wrath  of  Jehoiachim  endeavoured  to  destroy.'  Finally,  the 
impassioned  rhetoric  of  the  preacher  was  merged  into  the 
(inislicd  periods  of  the  author,  and,  in  the  latest  books  of  the 
Canon,  prophecy  takes  the  form  of  literature. 

'   is.1.  viii.  1-16.  XXX.  8;  Jex.  xx.xvi.  11-32.  ="  Jer.  xxxvi.  32. 


THE   WRITINGS   OF   THE   PROPHETS.  17 

The  process  began  with  Amos,  if,  as  seems  probable,  he 
was  the  earliest  of  those  whose  prophecies  are  extant.  His 
harangues  and  denunciations  were  dehvered  in  the  northern 
kingdom,  but  his  book  in  its  present  form  was  committed  to 
writing,  arranged,  and  thrown  into  artistic  shape  when  he  had 
been  driven  back  to  his  own  home  in  the  peaceful  pastures  of 
Tekoah.  We  can  see  from  the  Books  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel, 
that,  in  the  final  edition  of  their  prophetic  utterances,  the  order 
of  time  in  which  their  messages  were  delivered  was  subordi- 
nated to  other  considerations.  In  Ezekiel,  too,  and  the  post- 
exilic  prophets,  there  was  far  less  of  the  fervour  of  inspiration, 
and  the  torrent  of  public  speech.  They  assume  to  a  greater 
extent  the  aspect  of  artificial  poetry  or  of  symmetrical  prose. 

Naturally,  however,  the  written  prophecy  would  shew  traces 
of  its  "oTan  origin.  "The  character  of  all  Eastern  oratory  is 
rhythmic  ;  the  eloquence  of  an  Oriental  always  has  some  tinge 
of  poetry  in  it.  The  writings  of  the  prophets  are  therefore 
sometimes  in  prose,  sometimes  m  verse,  but  often  in  an  inter- 
mediate style,  partaking  of  both  elements.  "  This,"  says  Ewald, 
"is  confirmed  by  the  most  cursory  observation.  The  prophet's 
written  discourse  is  as  animated  and  rapid,  as  telling  for  the 
moment,  as  discursive  and  resumptive,  as  full  of  surprises  and 
effective  appeals,  as  his  oral  discourse.  And  as  the  prophets 
when  they  appeared  in  public  addressed  primarily  the  assembled 
men,  but  might  at  times  direct  a  word,  at  the  end  or  at  a  con- 
venient pause,  to  women  standing  in  the  distance,  so  in  their 
writings  also  occur  such  brief  appeals  to  the  women  at  the  end 
of  a  longer  section."  '  Posterity  gained  in  every  way  from 
the  literary  record  which,  while  it  preserved  the  substance  of 
"  thoughts  that  breathed  and  words  that  burned,"  added  to 
these  the  mature  results  of  reflection,  the  corrections  of  history, 
the  ripe  fruits  of  later  experience,  and  here  and  there  the 
invaluable  fragments  of  biographical  detail  which  give  us  a 
helpful  insight  into  the  prophet's  mind,  and  better  enable  us 
to  understand  his  words  and  mission.  The  editing  of  the 
messages  which  constituted  his  life's  work  was  generally  carried 
out  a  considerable  time  after  they  were  first  delivered. 

But  by  the  days  of  Amos  written  prophecy  had  become  a 
necessity  both  for  the  national  life  and  the  means  of  revelation. 

•  Ewald,  "  Prophets  of  Israel  "  i.  62,  E.  T.  (Amos  iv.  1-3;  Isa.  iii.  16, 
iv.  I,  xxxii.  9  ;  Ezek.  xiii.  17-23). 


1 8  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

The  present  was  becoming  more  and  more  hopeless,  so  that 
men  needed  to  be  sustained  by  hopes  of  the  future  ;  and  Israel 
and  Judah  were  both  to  be  scattered  among  heathen  nations. 

The  writings  of  the  earlier  and  greater  prophets,  even  when 
they  do  not  soar  into  absolute  poetry,  have  in  them  a  vivid 
imagery,  a  majestic  elevation,  a  rhythmic  beat  and  movement 
which  distinguish  them  from  the  pcdestris  oratio  of  the  ordi- 
nary moralist.  Like  the  Latin  7w/r.y  and  the  British  bixrd,\}c\t. 
prophets  were  almost  invariably  to  some  e.xtent  poets  also, 
i  hey  constantly  adopt  that  form  of  parallelism  which  has  been 
described  as  "the  rhyming  of  the  sense."  The  prophetic 
writings  fall  into  strophes,  arranged  generally  in  twos,  threes, 
or  fives,  and  often  marked  by  the  emphatic  and  musical  refrain 
of  some  striking  sentence.  They  often  rise  from  strophe  to 
strophe  into  terrible  and  splendid  climax  ;  often,  too,  a  mag- 
nificent effect  is  produced  by  a  colloquy  between  two  inter- 
locutors and  by  grand  dramatic  personifications.  And  prophetic 
literature — as  in  Amos,  Micah,  Jeremiah,  Isaiah,  and  others — 
does  not  disdain  to  use  the  parottomasicc  or  effective  plays  on 
words  which  are  common  in  the  writings  of  all  nations,  and 
which,  in  the  minor  form  of  alliteration,  constitute,  not  unfre- 
quently,  the  basis  of  national  poetic  form. 

These  separate  poems  or  orations  are  sometimes  described 
as  "a  word  of  the  Lord";  sometimes  as  "a  vision"  (ptn, 
chnzCm)  ;  sometimes  as  a  "  burden "  or  oracle  (NK'D,  massa) 
which  was  often  addressed  to  foreign  nations. 

When  we  find  a  prophet,  like  Zephaniah  or  Obadiah,  repre- 
sented only  by  a  short  single  poem,  we  must  not  necessarily 
suppose  that  so  brief  an  utterance  was  the  sole  outcome  of 
his  life's  work.  \Vhen  prophecy  became  literature  it  ran  the 
risk  of  all  the  chances  to  which  the  preservation  of  literature 
is  subject.  Some  poets — like  Persius  and  Gray — live  by  small 
but  precious  books  ;  others,  like  the  author  of  the  "  Burial  of 
Sir  John  Moore,"  are  famous  for  a  short  single  poem.  We 
must  remember  that  in  the  Bible  we  have  only  the  fragments 
of  a  much  more  extensive  literature  ;  the  remains  of  a 
much  vaster  library.  It  is  hardly  probable  that  a  prophet 
would  have  been  like  the  English  senator  who  was  known 
by  a  single  speech  ;  but  the  prescriuition  of  his  messages 
was  due  in  part  to  "God's  unseen  Providence,  by  men  nick- 
named Chance,"  and  in  part  to  the  intrinsic  value,  force,  and 


THE  WIRTINGS   OF  THE   PROPHETS.  I9 

originality  of  what  he  said,  upon  which  depended  the  impres- 
sion which  it  made  upon  the  minds  of  those  to  whom  it  was 
addressed.  After  the  Exile  these  books  were  edited  by  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah,  and  their  colleagues  of  the  so-called  Great 
Synagogue.  Length,  no  doubt,  tended  to  a  writer's  preserva- 
tion. The  writings  of  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel  —  for 
few  now  doubt  that  Daniel  belongs  to  a  much  later  date,  and 
falls  under  an  entirely  different  category — formed  a  compact 
and  important  whole.  It  was  not  likely  that  such  writings  would 
perish,  except  in  some  general  catastrophe.  But  in  addition 
to  these  great  books  there  were  many  others,  of  which  it  is 
probable  that  some  were  in  a  fragmentary  condition  and  of 
forgotten  authorship.  Guided  by  evidence  external,  internal, 
and  linguistic,  modern  criticism  thinks  that  it  can  point  out — 
and  in  some  instances  has  succeeded  in  proving— that  the 
remains  of  some  Great  Unknown  have  become  accidentally 
incorporated  with  the  works  of  some  other  prophet.  In 
an  age  devoid  of  criticism  —  which  in  its  perfection  and 
in  many  of  its  methods  is  an  entirely  modern  science  —  it 
was  in  accordance  with  probability  that  such  mistakes  might 
occur ;  and  all  the  more  because  the  rarity  and  preciousness 
of  vellum  and  other  writing  materials  made  it  necessary  to 
save  every  inch  of  space.  Similar  confusions  have  happened 
again  and  again  many  centuries  later,  and  in  times  much 
more  favourable  to  the  preservation  of  writings.  Thus  various 
sermons  and  writings  of  Pelagius  were  long  printed  among  the 
works  of  his  enemy,  St.  Jerome.  The  commentaries  of  an 
unknown  writer,  generally  called  Ambrosiaster,  were  printed 
with  those  of  St.  Ambrose  ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  misnamed 
letters  and  orations  have  found  their  way  into  the  works  of  St. 
Basil,  St.  Chrysostom,  and  St.  Augustine.  And,  not  to  mention 
other  modern  instances,  the  Tartarean  sermon  of  the  Spanish 
Jesuit,  Nieremberg,  has  been  mistaken  for  the  work  of  Bishop 
Jeremy  Taylor.  Now  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  the 
letter  of  Scripture  was  not  preserved  by  miracle  from  error 
or  interpolation  ;  and  that  the  canon  of  Scripture  was  left  to  the 
judgment,  wisdom,  and  learning  of  the  Jewish  Church,  guided 
generally  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  but  with  no  exemption  from  the 
possibility  of  error.  This  is  proved  both  by  historic  variations 
and  by  the  fact  that  different  branches  of  the  Catholic  Church 
have  to  this  day  a  different  canon  as  well  as  different  texts.     It 


20  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

is  obvious,  then,  that  every  question  of  unity  of  authorship 
must  not  be  regarded  as  a  relii^^ious  question,  but  must  be  ap- 
proached historically,  with  patient  observation,  with  a  supreme 
sense  of  the  sacredness  of  truth,  and  with  a  mind  free  from 
the  bias  of  purely  traditional  opinions.  The  possibility 
of  minor  confusions  was  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  the 
prophets  used,  quoted,  and  were  influenced  by,  each  other's 
writings.  The  Book  of  Ezekiel,  apart  from  a  corrupt  and 
difficuh  text,  has  probably  come  to  us  much  as  he  left  it  ; 
and  although  the  variations  of  the  Septuagint  show  that 
the  Hook  of  Jeremiah  has  been  freely  handled,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  his  prophecies  also  have  been  preserved  sub- 
stantially in  their  original  form."  In  the  Book  of  Isaiah,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  now  generally  admitted  that  there  are 
mingled  elements.  The  last  chapters  may  be  said  with  some- 
thing like  certainty  to  be  the  work  of  an  anonymous  prophet 
of  consummate  gifts,  who  lived  towards  the  close  of  the  Baby- 
lonish Captivity.  In  the  historical  books  we  are  expressly 
referred  to  treatises  of  various  prophets — Gad,  Iddo,  and  others 
— which  have  not  come  down  to  us.  If  these  seers  wrote  history 
it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  they  may  also  have  written  pro- 
pliecies.  But  their  writings  have  perished.  Indeed,  many 
phenomena  lead  us  to  the  belief  that  "  there  is  at  the  back  of 
the  existing  remains  an  extensive  literature  of  which  there  have 
been  preserved  to  us  but,  as  it  were,  a  few  blossoms  from  a 
large  tree."-'  We  must  not  therefore  be  surprised  if  we  are  con- 
fronted by  questions  of  unity  of  authorship,  and  transpositions 
of  text,  when  we  come  to  the  writings  of  some  of  the  prophets. 
The  formation  of  the  prophetic  canon  resembled  in  some 
respects  the  formation  of  the  Psalter,  and  was  liable  to  the 
same  disturbing  elements. 

The  Twelve  Minor  Prophets  were  thrown  together  into  one 
volume  because  their  collected  remains  were  about  equal  in  size 
to  the  books  of  the  Greater  Prophets.  When  materials  were 
cosily— and  it  must  be  remanbered  that  the  use  of  papyrus  was 
not  common  before  B.C.  333  ^ — it  obviously  saved  expense,  and 
waste  of  space,  to  copy  the  smaller  authors  upon  a  single  roll. 

■   It  must  of  course  be  home  in  niinil  tli.it  in  editing  tlicir  prupliecies  the 
)ircjpl)cls  must  have  indcfinilEly  abbreviated  their  0r.1l  discourses. 
»  Kwald,  I.e.  86. 
1  Plinv,    "  II.  N."  xtii.  21  fcorr-.n  d  h>  W'ilkfnr.un.  ".An,.  F','."  iii.  140). 


THE  WRITINGS   OF    THE   PROTHE,T3.  21 

The  name  Minor  Prophets,  and  the  German  Kleine  Pro- 
phetcn,  "  little  prophets,''  has  proved  to  be  very  misleading. 
Thtomas  Paine  is  by  no  means  the  only  person  who  has  sup- 
posed that  they  were  so  called  because  of  their  inferior  import- 
ance. They  owe  the  name  solely  to  their  smaller  size,  and  the 
book  which  contained  them  was  known  in  Greek  as  to  dw6tKa- 
Trp6(j)r]Tov,  or  "  twelve-prophet-book."  Whether  this  title  of 
"  Minor,"  or  the  difficulty  of  understanding  some  of  these 
writings,  has  led  to  their  comparative  neglect  cannot  be 
decided  ;  but  certain  it  is  that  no  part  of  Scriptirre  has  been  so 
little  studied  or  is  at  this  moment  so  little  known.  I  shall 
esteem  it  a  great  reward  of  my  labour  if  these  pages  have  the 
effect  of  making  these  precious  and  interesting  remains  more 
generally  understood. 

We  may  be  better  prepared  to  estimate  their  value  when  we 
remember  two  facts  about  them. 

1.  The  writings  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  are  the  crown  and 
flower  of  the  Old  Testament  writings.  They  are  also  the  most 
unique  representations  of  Hebrew  nationality  and  thought. 
Other  nations  have  had  their  poets  and  historians  ;  but  no 
nation  has  produced  a  set  of  writers  so  morally  eminent  and 
politically  beneficent  as  the  Greater  Prophets.  They  stand 
forth  as  the  Protestants  and  Reformers  of  Judaism,  repudiating 
the  mechanical  formalism  of  an  external  cult,  and  usually  in 
marked  antagonism  to  the  whole  priestly  order.  The  deepest 
of  the  many  misfortunes  which  attended  the  development  of 
Judaism  was  the  extravagant  exaltation  of  a  deathful  and 
evanescent  Law  over  the  spirituality  of  those  who  were  (he 
precursors  of  the  Gospel. 

2.  The  Apostles  evidently  attached  a  high  value  to  the  Minor 
Prophets.  In  the  New  Testament  they  are  nwre  freciuently 
(|uoted  than  the  Greater  Prophets  (by  which  we  merely  mean 
Larger  Prophets).  "  The  text  of  the  first  Christian  sermon," 
says  Dean  Payne  Smith,  "  is  taken  by  St.  Peter  from  Joel 
(Acts  ii.  17-21).  St.  Stephen  gives  emphasis  to  his  argument 
by  a  quotation  from  Amos  (Acts  vii.  42,  43)  ;  and  St.  James,  by  a 
quotation  from  the  same  prophet,  decides  the  question  discussed 
at  the  first  Christian  Council  (Acts  xv.  i6,  17).  So,  too,  if  we  look 

iL  the  doctrines  first  revealed  by  their  instrumentality,  we  shall 
rind  that  they  hold  a  very  foremost  place  in  our  belief.  It  is 
Foel  who  teaches  us  the  momentous  fact  of  a  future  resurrec- 


22  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

tion  and  a  general  judf^nient,  and  of  that  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  upon  all  flesh,  without  which  these  doctrines  would  be  a 
terror  to  us.  It  is  Micah  who  reveals  to  men  the  birthplace 
of  our  Lord,  Zechariah  foreshadows  His  crucifixion,  Jonah 
His  resurrection  though  veiled  under  a  sign.  And  as  they  were 
the  earliest  prophets  who  left  written  memorials  of  their  work, 
so  were  they  the  last.  The  Old  Testament  closes  with  the 
trumpet-sounds  of  Malachi,  telling  us  o(  the  approach  of  the 
Forerunner,  of  the  separation  of  the  Jews  into  those  who 
accepted  Christ  and  those  who  rejected  Him,  and  of  the  coming 
of  days  when,  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  unto  the  going 
down  of  the  same,  no  victim  should  bleed  upon  an  altar,  but 
the  meat-offering,  the  type  of  Christian  worship,  be  offered 
every  day  to  Jehovah's  name."  ' 

'  See  the  table  of  references  to  the  Minor  Prophets  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment at  the  end  of  the  book. 


CHAPTER    III. 

CHRONOLOGICAL  ORDER  OF  THE  PROPHETS. 

"  Distingue  tempora  et  concordabis  Scripturas." 

St.  Augustine. 

Unchronological  order — Three  groups  of  prophets — Their  true  chrono- 
logical sequence — Supposed  subjective  arrangement— A  general  survey 
of  the  epochs  of  prophecy. 

The  Bible  would  be  far  better  understood  in  its  historical 
aspect  if  it  were  arranged  with  greater  reference  to  chronology. 
As  it  is,  the  Books  of  the  Prophets,  like  the  Epistles  of  the 
New  Testament,  are  heterogeneously  flung  together  with  re- 
ference only  to  their  length  and  size.  This  is,  of  course,  a 
purely  accidental  principle  of  arrangement  ;  yet  many  unin- 
structed  readers  never  get  below  it.  They  look  on  Isaiah  as 
the  earliest  of  the  prophets,  though  he  had  at  least  six 
predecessors.' 

The  reader  will  obtain  a  clearer  view  of  these  writers  if 
he  will  remember  that — I.  Chronologically  the  prophets  whose 
books  have  survived  fall  into  three  great  groups  :  (r)  those  of 
the  Assyrian  period  ;  (2)  those  of  the  Chaldean  period  ;  and 
(3)  those  who  succeeded  the  Exile. 

(i)  To  the  first  group  belong  Amos,  Hosea,  Micah,  Nahum, 
Zephaniah,  and  the  earlier  Isaiah.  The  date  of  Joel  is  uncertain. 
Historically  Jonah,  the  son  of  Amittai,  was  older  than  any 
of  these,  but  modern  criticism  may  be  said  to  have  abandoned 
the  notion  that  the  book  which  passes  under  his  name  was 
written  by  that  ancient  prophet.  The  first  group  of  prophets 
wrote  from  the  time  that  Assyria  began  to  emerge  upon  the 
horizon  tilT  the'  Overthrow  of  its  power  by  Babylon.     What  is 

'  The  Hebrew  order  of  these  Prophets  is  Hosea,  Joel,  Amos,  Obadiah. 
Jonah,  Micah,  &c.  The  Greek  order  is  Hosea,  Amos,  Micah,  Joel, 
Obadiah,  Jonah,  &c. 


a4  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

their  exact  order  cannot  be  determined,  but  it  may  perhaps 
correspond  to  that  in  which  they  are  here  placed.  When 
their  remains  were  edited  after  the  Exile  it  is  probable 
that  these  six  Minor  Prophets  already  formed  one  volume, 
Hosea,  Amos,  and  Micah  may  have  been  placed  first  only  because 
they  occupy  the  greatest  space.  It  is  probable  that  some  at 
least  of  the  headingsof  their  writings  were  added  by  later  hands. 

(2)  To  the  second  or  Babylonian  period  belong  Zephaniah, 
Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Habakkuk,  and  Obadiah.  The  historic  work 
attributed  to  Daniel  was  not  placed  by  the  Jews  among  the 
Prophets  at  all,  but  among  the  Hagiographa  or  sacred  writings. 

(3)  To  the  post-Exilic  prophets  belong  Haggai,  Zechariah, 
and  Malachi. 

II.  As  the  chronological  order  is  so  important,  we  might 
perhaps  prefer  Kuenen's  separation  of  the  Prophets  generally 
intoyfz/^  groups. 

I.  B.C.  900-850.  Pras-Assyrian  period — Amos,  Hosea,  Joel  (?). 

-^2.  B.C.  850-700.  The  Assyrian  period — Micah,  Isaiah. 

3.  B.C.  626-586.  The  Chaldean  period — Nahum,  Zephaniah,' 
Jeremiah,  Habakkuk,  the  elder  Zechariah,  Obadiah. 

4.  B.C.  586-536.  The  Exile — Ezekiel. 

5.  B.C.  520-400.  The  post-Exilic  Prophets — Zechariah,  Hag- 
gai, Malachi. - 

The  Books  of  Jonah  and  Daniel  belong  to  an  entirely  sepa- 
rate order.  If  the  prevalent  views  of  modern  research  be  correct, 
the  first  is  a  magnificent  specimen  of  moral  allegory  devoted  to 
the  noblest  purposes  ;  and  the  second  is  the  earliest  of  a  long 
series  of  apocalypses  from  the  days  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
(B.C.  175)  down  to  the  Sibylline  books,  the  Shepherd  of  Hermas, 
and  not  a  few  Christian  writings  of  the  first  and  second  cen- 
turies after  Christ.  In  days  of  persecution,  when  any  literature 
which  was  not  cryptographic  might  involve  whole  communities 
in  peril,  religious  teaching  strove  to  sustain  the  endurance  and 
fire  the  courage  of  men  and  women,  by  representing  to  them 
across  the  wilderness,  in  a  mirage  which  was  undeceptive,  the 
hopes  and  triumphs  of  the  days  to  come. 

III.  Keil  has  supposed  that  subjective  principles   were  at 

«  Nahum  and  Zephaniah  stand  at  the  close  of  the  Assyrian  epoch, 
lief  ore  Nineveh  was  destroyed. 

■  The  existing  Book  of  Zechari.ih  possibly  contains  three  separate  frag- 
ments of  different  datci 


CHRONOLOGICAL  ORDER  OF  THE  PROPHETS.  25 

work  in  the  order  of  the  Minor  Prophets.  Hosea  in  his  last 
chapter  had  spoken  of  rich  harvests  ;  Joel  was  therefore  placed 
next  to  him  because  he  makes  the  failure  of  the  harvest  a  call 
to  repentance.  Amos  was  placed  after  Joel  because  he  repeats 
the  metaphor  of  the  Lord  roaring  out  of  Zion  which  is  found  in 
Joel's  last  chapter.  Amos  had  spoken  of  Israel  possessing  the 
remnant  of  Edom,  and  he  is  therefore  succeeded  by  Obadiah, 
who  prophesies  the  ruin  of  Edom.  Since  Obadiah  had  spoken 
of  "  an  ambassador  among  the  heathen,"  Jonah  follows  Obadiah. 
Micah  and  Nahum  follow  because  they  speak  of  Nineveh,  and 
because  they  illustrate  the  mei'cy  and  long-suffering  of  God.' 

It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  the  entire  order  of  prophets  from 
first  to  last  falls  into  very  various  groups,  if  we  give  to  the 
designation  the  latitude  which  it  gradually  received. 

i.  First  come  the  Patriarchs,  whose  prophetic  gift  consisted 
in  moral  elevation,  trust  in  God,  and  communion  with  God  by 
dreams  and  epiphanies  in  which  they  were  made  repositories  of 
precious  promises. 

ii.  Next  comes  Moses,  the  inspired  guide  of  the  New 
Nationality,  the  deliverer  of  the  Moral  Law. 

iii.  Samuel  inaugurates  a  new  epoch.  The  wild  orgiastic 
impulses  of  spirits  stirred  to  their  depths  by  the  emotions  of 
outraged  patriotism,  and  the  consciousness  of  Divine  insight, 
as  well  as  the  lower  tendencies  towards  a  vulgar  vaticination, 
were  corrected  by  the  formation  of  Schools  of  the  Prophets, 
in  which  youths  were  trained  to  take  part  in  great  national 
movements,  and  to  keep  the  people  in  the  paths  of  faithful 
monotheism  and  obedience  to  the  moral  law  so  far  as  it  was 
then  understood.' 

iv.  In  Elijah,  Elisha,  and  their  followers,  the  prophet — 
often  standing  in  magnificent  isolation  in  which  he  had  to  con- 
front the  opposition  of  priests  and  the  apostasy  of  kings — 
assumed  the  position  of  an  immediate  representative  of  Jehovah, 
armed  with  supernatural  powers  to  punish  those  who  resisted 
the  truths  which  he  proclaimed. 

V.  The  prophets  of  the  Prs-Assyrian  period  were  poets, 
orators,  and  tribunes  of  the  people,  resting  their  claims  exclu- 
sively on  the  authority  of  their  divine  message.     During  this 

*  Jonah  iv.  2 ;  Micah  vii.  18  ;  Nahum  i.  3,  referring  to  Exod.  xxxiv.  6,  7. 
■  David  and  some  of  the  Psalmists  must  be  regarded  mainly  as  poets,  yet 
they  also  belong  in  part  to  this  division  of  prophets. 


26  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

epoch,  as  Delitzsch  says,  World- Empires  and  Prophetism  were 
the  two  main  factors  in  redemptive  history,  and  the  prophets 
were  hke  the  embodied  conscience  of  the  state. 

vi.  In  the  Chaldean  epoch  the  chief  Prophet  Jeremiah  was 
no  longer  able  to  fire  into  heroism  the  resistance  of  a  free 
people.  He  had  to  check  and  discourage  efforts  on  all  of  which 
was  written  the  epitaph  "  too  late,"  and  to  preach  a  faithful 
and  penitent  submission  rather  than  a  patriotism  which  had 
been  doomed  to  final  overthrow.  It  was  the  function  of  Jere- 
miah— who  stood  almost  alone — first  to  be  a  preacher  of  the 
new  reformation  of  the  days  of  Josiah,  and  then  to  expose  its 
elements  of  failure  and  hollowness,  "As  Elijah  represents  the 
conflict,  and  Elishathe  triumph  of  prophetism,  so  Isaiah  repre- 
sents the  power  of  the  prophets  in  action,  and  Jeremiah  their 
strength  in  suffering.  He  is  the  afflicted  priestly  prophet,  as 
David  is  the  suffering  king." 

vii.  In  the  Exile  the  prophets,  as  represented  by  Ezekiel, 
became  more  symbolic,  more  literary,  and  more  sacerdotal. 

viii.  These  tendencies  were  perpetuated  in  the  later  and 
feebler  prophets,  who  encouraged  the  returning  exiles  to  rebuild 
the  Temple  or  to  support  its  services. 

ix.  In  the  period  after  Malachi  the  voice  of  genuine  prophecy 
ceased  altogether.  It  was  replaced  by  later  and  inferior  forms 
of  sacred  literature.  God  spoke  no  longer  by  dreams,  by  Urim, 
or  by  prophets,  and  the  passion  of  inspiration  sank  into  yearn- 
ing memories,  vague  and  unhopeful  aspirations,  or  prudential 
morality.  A  burst  of  feeling  was  awakened  by  the  struggle 
against  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  but  it  chiefly  expressed  itself  in 
apocalypses,  historic  narrative,  and  didactic  fiction.  The 
wisdom-literature — known  by  the  Jews  as  the  Chokmah — pro- 
duced fine  fruit  in  the  Books  of  Ecclesiasticus  and  Wisdom  ; 
the  apocalyptic  literature  (if  modern  views  be  correct)  in  the 
Books  of  Baruch  and  Esdras,  and  in  certain  chapters  of  the 
Book  of  Daniel,  which  was,  as  Delitzsch  says,  "a  book  of  con- 
solation  for  the  confessors  and  martyrs  of  the  times  of  the 
Seleucidae." '  The  literature  of  moral  apologue— if  again  modern 
critics  be  right — was  enriched  with  one  consummate  work  in 
the  Book  of  Jonah. 

'  He  adds  that  weighty  reasons  point  to  the  date  of  the  Book  of  Daniel 
as  about  B.C.  170,  so  that  it  is  oao  of  the  latest  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  ORDER  OF  THE   PROPHETS.  27 

X.  Prophecy  of  the  olden  type  which  took  Elijah  as  its  model 
was  revived  in  the  great  Forerunner,  but  with  three  charac- 
teristic differences.  John  did  no  miracle  ;  his  teaching  was 
distinctively  moral  ;  and  it  was  his  chief  mission  to  be  a  herald 
of  the  Coming  King. 

xi.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  in  the  highest  and  com- 
pletest  sense  the  Prophet  (Deut.  xviii.  18)  as  well  as  the  Priest 
and  King  of  the  whole  human  race,  in  that  He  interpreted  to 
them  in  human  speech  the  Eternal  Will  of  God. 

xii.  The  prophets  of  the  Christian  Church  were  distinctively 
moral  teachers  and  preachers  ;  and  their  function,  under  the 
promised  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  has  been  continued 
unbroken  to  the  present  day. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  PROPHETS  AS  SPIRITUAL  TEACHERS. 

Amos  as  a  prophet— Grandeur  of  his  attitude— Existence  of  the  Law — 
Asserted  limitations  of  the  prophets— Anthropomorphism — Particu- 
larism—  Imperfect  knowledge  of  immortality — They  rarely  address 
individuals — Need  of  a  re-statement  of  the  argument  from  prophecy — 
Literal  and  ideal  predictions — Irreconcilable  elements — The  Messianic 
expectation. 

I  "HAVE  already  said  that  in  reading  the  Prophecy  of  Amos  we 
are  probably  reading  the  earliest  written  product  of  Hebrew 
prophecy. 

Moses  indeed  was  a  prophet,  but  his  work  as  a  legis- 
lator was  more  prominent,  and  the  title  prophet  only  belongs 
to  him  in  the  same  general  sense  in  which  (as  we  have  already 
seen)  it  is  applied  to  Abraham  and  the  Patriarchs.  Samuel  was 
a  prophet,  and  one  of  the  utmost  eminence,  but  the  writings 
which  emanated  from  his  immediate  school  seem  to  have  been 
mainly  historical.  Elijah,  Elisha,  and  their  predecessors,  Gad, 
Nathan,  Ahijah,  Shemaiah,  Iddo,  Azariah,  Oded,  Hanani, 
Jehu,  Jahaziel,  Eliezer,  and  other  prophets  and  seers  who  are 
unnamed  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  monarchy,  confined  their 
work  to  the  oral  delivery  of  their  Divine  commission,  or  to  the 
composition  of  royal  chronicles.  Amos,  then,  marks  the  first 
step  of  the  transition  from  oral  to  written  communications  of 
the  Word  of  the  Eternal. 

If  we  suppose  that  the  Pentateuch  was  in  existence  when 
the  prophets  wrote,  we  shall  follow  the  usual  custom  of 
making  the  word  "  Law  "  in  their  pages  always  refer  to  the  Law 
as  we  find  it  in  the  five  books  of  Moses.  But  nothing 
is  more  certain  than  that  to  the  mass  of  the  people  many  of 
the  Mosaic  regulations  were  as  completely  unknown  as  if  they 
had"never  existed.  That  some  parts  of  the  Sinaitic  Law  are  of 
extreme  antiquity,  nnd  that  the  people  H-ere  not  unacquainted 


THE   PROPHETS  AS   SPIRITUAL  TEACHERS.  ^Q 

with  the  requirements  of  the  moral  law  as  represented  by  the 
Ten  Commandments,  seems  certain.  But  when  the  earlier 
prophets  speak  of  "  the  Law "  there  is  no  proof  that  they  are 
referring  to  written  documents.  Such  documents  would  have 
been  useless  to  an  illiterate  people,  absorbed  in  perpetual  wars. 
Jeremiah  seems  to  be  the  first  prophet  who  refers  to  a  written 
code,  which  some  have  identified  with  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy. 
We  cannot  say  with  any  certainty  what  older  documents  had 
in  any  way  influenced  the  general  religion  of  the  people 
under  their  earlier  kings.  The  prophets  thus  become  the 
earliest  as  well  as  the  most  eminent  of  the  great  moral  teachers 
of  the  Jews. 

But  even  if  it  be  supposed  that  the  Pentateuch  was  in  the 
hands  of  Amos  and  Hosea  and  Isaiah,  how  completely  do 
they  rise  above  the  spirit  of  Levitism,  which,  at  the  best 
— as  the  New  Testament  teaches  us — had  been  concessive, 
imperfect,  transient,  and  formalistic.  Prophet  after  prophet 
uses  language  which  sounds  almost  sweeping  and  disdainful  ia 
its  depreciation  of  the  outward  ceremonies  on  which,  to  the 
narrower  minds  of  the  priests,  the  very  safety  of  the  world  was 
supposed  to  depend.'  Such  language  is  usually  explained  to 
mean  that  sacrifices  and  incense,  and  bowing  the  head  like  a 
bulrush,  and  scrupulosity  about  fasts  and  feasts,  was  not  for  a 
moment  to  be  put  into  comparison  with  moral  rectitiide  and  th« 
sincere  religion  of  the  heart.  In  the  terms  they  use,  however, 
the  prophets  themselves  make  no  such  reservation.  In  some- 
passages  they  seem  to  denounce  the  conceptions  which  lie  at  the 
base  of  the  Levitic  and  Pharisaic  spirit  as  in  themselves  des- 
picable, because  they  evince  ignoble  thoughts  of  God,  and  of 
the  true  service  of  man.  At  any  rate  they  make  it  as  plain  as 
does  the  New  Testament,  that  except  as  subordinate  adjuncts 
to  religious  worship — except  as  cheap  things  by  which  Goil 
cannot  be  pleased  in  themselves  but  only  when  they  subserve 
to  higher  ends — they  only  kindle  the  displeasure  of  God.^ 

'  I  Sam.  XV.  22  ;  Psa.  xl.  6  ;  Amos  v.  21-37  !  Hos.  vi.  6,  viii.  13,  ix.  3-6 ; 
Isa.  i.  II,  xxix.  13,  Ixvi.  3  ;  Jer.  vi.  ;  Mic.  vi.  6,  7. 

^  Hos.  vi.  6  ;  Jer.  vi.  20,  vii.  21-28.  "  It  might  be  thought  that  such 
declarations  were  intended  only  against  the  vice  and  superstition  of  thr.t 
false  service  which  finds  it  easier  to  sacrifice  than  to  obey,  and  thereby  tu 
correct  the  undue  frreference  which  men  of  their  own  will  might  give  to 
the  ceremoni^  law.    But  the  prophets  do  more  than  this  ;  they  insist  on  the 


30  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

It  may,  however,  be  objected  to  the  grandeur  of  their  teach- 
ing (i)  that  their  idea  of  God  is  too  anthropomorphic  ;  (2)  that 
their  view  of  His  relation  to  mankind  is  too  exclusive  ;  (3)  and 
that  they  fail  to  explain  the  enigmas  of  Providence,  because 
they  do  not  vividly  realize  the  life  beyond  the  grave. 

I.  As  to  the  first  point,  any  abstract  conception  of  God  as  a 
Being  without  Body,  Parts,  or  Passions,  is  of  necessity  a  growth 
of  ages.  To  the  ancients,  in  the  immature  childhood  of  the 
world,  such  a  Deity  was  unthinkable.  It  continued  to  be  so  for 
many  later  ages.  Even  Tertullian  regards  the  notion  of  a 
bodiless  Divinity  as  self-refuting  and  absurd.  Origen  had 
indeed  fully  realized  the  meaning  of  the  words,  "  God  is  Spirit," 
but  he  was  so  completely  in  advance  of  his  age  that  the  rude 
anthropomorphite  monks  of  the  Scetic  desert  were  driven  into 
a  fury  of  turbulence  by  his  teaching;  and  one  old  hermit,  on 
being  shown  the  absurdity  of  his  views,  burst  into  tears  and 
exclaimed  that  the  Origenists  had  robbed  him  of  God,  of  the 
only  God  whom  he  knew.  Even  in  these  days  it  is  impossible 
to  speak  of  God's  dealings  without  translating  the  abstract 
into  the  language  of  human  metaphor.  However  clear  may 
be  our  imagination  of  the  Eternal,  all  language  respectin 
Him  becomes  meaningless  and  ineffectual  without  the  aid 
of  anthropomorphism  and  anthropopathy,  that  is,  without 
the  symbolical  attribution  to  Him  of  such  expressions  as 
"  the  hand  "  and  "  the  eye  "  and  "  the  heart  "  of  God,  and  with- 
out supposing  Him  to  be  capable  of  conditions  dimly  analogous 
to  anger  and  scorn  and  hatred,  as  well  as  mercy  and  benefi- 
cence. Whatever  imperfections  we  may  find  in  the  revelations 
of  the  prophets  are  implied  in  the  saying  of  our  Lord  :  "  No 
man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time.  The  only  begotten  Son,  who 
is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him."  The 
prophets  lived  in  the  dawn  and  childhood  of  revelation,  not 
under  its  noonday  splendour,  when  "the  Word  became  flesh 
and  dwelt  among  us." 

2.  As  for  the  particularism  which  we  find  in  the  Prophets,  it 
is  only  such  as  we  find  in  all  nations  at  a  certain  stage  of  their 
development.     It   is  exactly  analogous  to   the  feeling    which 

'eal  inferiority  of  the  ritual  worship  ;  they  mark  the  essential  difference 
*hich  the  several  parts  of  His  law  had  in  the  sight  of  God"  (Davison, 
n  "  Prophecy,"  p.  284). 


THE   PROPHETS   AS   SPIRITUAL  TEACHERS.  3I 

made  the  Greeks  divide  the  human  race  into  Greeks  and  bar- 
barians, and  the  Chinese  into  celestials  and  terrene. 

It  was  impossible  that  an  ancient  Jew  should  have  been 
cosmopolitan  in  spirit,  when  such  a  feeling  as  the  universal 
brotherhood  of  man — a  feeling  first  made  into  a  common  heri- 
tage of  thought  by  the  Gospel — was  as  yet  unknown  in  any 
land.  And  the  particularism  of  the  Jew  was,  in  certain  aspects, 
a  part  of  his  divine  training.  It  was  cherished  by  the  deep  and 
true  sense  that  God  had  given  him  a  unique  position  among 
the  races  of  men,  and  a  special  duty  towards  them.  Friendly 
intercourse  with  the  worshippers  of  Baalim  and  Ashtaroth 
and  Moloch  and  Chemosh  meant  certain  demoralization,  and 
apostasy  from  the  pure  worship  of  Jehovah.  Further,  let  us 
bear  in  mind  that  the  state  of  the  world  in  the  eighth  century 
before  Christ  was  immensely  different  from  that  produced  by 
the  sum  of  so  many  fair  centuries,  in  which  mankind  has  learnt 
the  traditions  of  civility  and  righteousness.  Amos  and  Isaiah 
and  Micah  lived  in  an  epoch  when  there  flamed  or  smouldered 
between  the  nations  the  concentrated  malignity  of  immemorial 
blood  feuds  and  the  loathing  of  religious  hatreds.  War  be- 
tween such  nations  meant  exile,  slavery,  extermination,  the 
ripping  up  of  women,  the  cruel  mutilations  of  men,  the  dashing 
of  mothers  and  infants  down  the  rocks.  In  such  a  condition  of 
society — amid  the  cruel  imminence  of  kidnapping,  slave  raids, 
and  horrible  invasions — it  was  not  unnatural  that  the  comity 
of  nations  should  be  a  thing  unknown. 

And  yet  the  prophets  even  in  this  matter  often  seem  far  above 
the  standard  of  their  age. 

In  the  prophetic  writings,  more  than  in  any  others  of  the  Old 
Testament,  we  find  occasional  glimpses — if  no  more — of  the 
great  truth  of  God's  common  Fatherhood,  which  it  was  left  for 
Christ  to  reveal,  and  which  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  enunciated  in 
such  noble  words  to  the  Gentiles  under  the  roof  of  the  centurion 
at  Cfesarea,  and  to  the  Stoics  and  Epicureans  in  the  Areopagus 
at  Athens. 

''  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  but  in  every  nation  he 
that  feareth  Him  and  doeth  righteousness  is  accepted  of  Him." 

"Verily  I  perceive  of  a  truth  that  God  hath  made  out  of  one 
all  nations  of  men  .  .  .  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  Him  and  find 
Him,  though  He  be  not  far  from  every  one  of  us  ...  as  certain 
of  your  own  poets  have  said,  '  For  we  are  also  His  offspring.' " 


32  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

3.  And  it  is  true  that  it  was  Christ  and  not  the  prophets  who 
brought  hfe  and  immortality  to  light.  It  implies  limitation,  but 
not  defect  in  the  prophetic  teaching,  that  they  only  conjectured 
Sheol  as  a  world  of  spirits — vague,  dim,  and  shadowy  as  the 
Hades  of  the  Greeks — and  that  the  idea  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments  does  not  definitely  enter  into  their  religion,  and  is 
not  made  the  motive  of  their  moral  exhortations.  Whatever 
may  be  the  wise  and  merciful  reason  for  this  law  of  Providence, 
certain  it  is  that  truth  has  never  been  vouchsafed  to  mankind  in 
one  broad  flood  of  noonday  light.  Rather  it  has  always  begun 
as  a  beam  in  the  darkness,  broadening  more  and  more  to  the 
boundless  day.  The  teaching  of  the  prophets  is  true  and 
sublime  within  its  own  range  of  inspiration  ;  but  it  is  of  the 
dawn,  not  of  the  noonday. 

As  part  of  this  limitation  it  is  important  to  observe  that  the 
Prophet  very  rarely  addresses  individuals.  The  sort  of  religious 
self-absorption — the  selfishness  expanded  to  infinitude — the 
concentrated  egotism  of  personal  effort  to  escape  future  punish- 
ment— the  contented  hugging  of  our  own  particular  plank  of 
safety  amid  the  universal  welter  of  the  fiery  surge ;  these  elements 
of  our  modern  individualism,  which  have  often  usurped  well 
nigh  the  whole  sphere  of  religion,  were  unknown  to  the  ancient 
prophets.  Their  message  is  addressed  almost  exclusively  to 
communities  and  kingdoms.  The  citizen  is  lost  in  the  concep- 
tion of  the  State.  Even  the  blessings  pronounced  on  the 
"  remnant  that  shall  be  left "  are  mainly  the  blessings  of  the 
commonwealth,  not  of  the  individual. 

They  teach  us  that  God  will  smite,  will  smite  justly,  and 
yet  will  spare  ;  that  He  will  destroy,  yet  not  destroy  wholly 
or  finally,  because  He  is  God  and  not  man,  and  because, 
as  Clement  of  Alexandria  says,  "  were  He  to  cease  to  do  good, 
He  would  cease  to  be  God."  "I  will  not  execute  the  fierceness 
of  Mine  anger  ;  I  will  not  return  to  destroy  Israel,  FOR  I  AM 
God  and  not  man."  That  was  a  real,  and  not  a  sham  message. 
It  was  an  anticipation  of  the  revelation  of  God  by  the  Son  of 
God  as  the  Father  of  the  prodigal.  These  words,  ^'■for  I  am  God, 
ami  not  man,"  might  stand  for  an  epitome  of  Holy  Writ.    They 

indicate — 

"  An  unchanging  love 
Higher  than  tlie  height  above, 
Deeper  than  the  depth  beneath, 
True  and  faithful,  strong  as  death." 


THE   PROPHETS   AS   SPIRITUAL  TEACHERS.  33 

In  the  teaching  of  the  prophets,  as  in  that  of  Christ  and  His 
Apostles,  the  awful  certainty  of  retribution  does  not  obliterate 
tlie  unquenchable  gleams  of  love  and  hope.  The  prophets 
would  have  said,  with  George  Fox,  "  I  saw  an  ocean  of  death 
and  darkness,  but  an  infinite  ocean  of  love  and  light  flowed 
over  it,  and  in  that  I  saw  the  infinite  love  of  God." 

In  accordance  with  these  high  convictions  was  that  un- 
alterable recurrence  of  the  Messianic  faith  which  lay  at  the 
heart  of  all  that  was  best  in  the  religion  of  the  Hebrews,  and 
which  stamps  with  the  divinest  sanction  the  truth  of  those 
oracles  of  God  which  were  entrusted  to  the  charge  of  God's 
people  Israel.  "  By  virtue  of  their  connection  with  the  com- 
munity of  Israel,"  says  Ewald,  "and  the  eternal  truth  with  which 
it  has  supplied  them,  the  prophets  had  inherited  the  main  ele- 
ments of  eternal  hope  and  firm  confidence  in  the  end  of  all  things. 
Where  the  eternal  truths  have  once  been  so  firmly  grasped,  and 
made  the  basis  of  the  entire  national  life  as  was  the  case  in  the 
ancient  community  of  Israel,  the  conviction  must  prevail  that 
they  can  never  be  wholly  lost,  but  must  in  the  end  issue  in  still 
greater  well-being.  The  imagination  inspired  by  zeal  and 
longing  desire  is  able  to  pursue  at  length  the  hopes  which  thus 
arise,  and  may  elaborate  them  with  equal  vividness  and  truth. 
The  Messianic  hopes  were  formed  under  the  influence  of  the 
never-resting  burning  desire,  and  the  struggles  of  imagination 
of  these  prophets.  But  the  present  is  often  very  far  from  the 
attainment  of  the  consummation  ;  indeed,  the  way  towards  it 
appears  at  times  either  lost  in  darkness  or  cut  off".  Here,  there- 
fore, the  prophetic  function  is  properly  called  into  play  ;  and  ac- 
cording as  a  prophet,  in  the  midst  of  the  darkness  of  the  present 
and  immediate  future,  points  out  the  way  to  that  eternal  hope  and 
consummation,  is  his  magnitude  and  truth  to  be  measured." ' 

Much  of  the  language  in  which  the  Messianic  belief  is  ex- 
pressed is  necessarily  symbolic,  and  events  are  foreshortened 
to  the  prophets'  yearning  gaze.  "The  prophets,"  says  Crusius, 
"  beheld  the  future,  by  means  of  the  light  of  Divine  illumina- 
tion, as  we  do  the  sidereal  heavens.  To  us  the  stars  appear  as 
if  they  were  on  one  level  ;  we  do  not  distinguish  their  distance 
from  us  and  from  one  another." ' 

^  Ewald,  i.  36. 

*  "  Proph.  Theol.,"  p.  99.  Comp.  Bengel  on  Matt.  xxiv.  29.  Delitzsch, 
"  Old  Testament  History  of  Redemption,"  p.  148,  Eng.  tr. 

4 


34  THE  MINOR  PROPHETS. 

But  the  most  important  general  fact  to  bear  in  mind  with  re- 
ference to  the  predictive  element  of  prophecy  is  that  it  must  be 
understood  in  a  large  ideal  sense.  The  prophetic  picture  is  to 
be  judged,  not  so  much  by  the  figures  in  which  it  is  expressed, 
and  the  details  which  heighten  its  effectiveness,  as  "by  the 
meaning  of  the  thoughts  and  demands  which  is  hidden  within 
it.  It  would  be  a  source  of  constant  misconception  to  conceive 
of  picture  and  presentiment  otherwise  than  in  accordance  with 
their  own  peculiar  life  and  nature."  "  Prophecy,"  says  Delitzsch, 
"  was  not  only  Divine,  but  human.  Both  the  expansion  of 
the  prophet's  vision  which  is  wrought  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  as 
well  as  the  natural  limitation  of  his  vision  which  the  Spirit 
does  not  remove,  serve  the  Divine  plan  of  redemption  ;  for  if 
prophecy  had  possessed  and  afforded  a  definite  chronological 
knowledge  concerning  the  course  of  the  future,  it  would  have 
cut  off  all  desire  to  press  toward  the  goal  of  the  offered  prize."  ' 

It  is  towards  the  close  of  the  history  of  the  Northern  and 
Southern  Kingdoms  that  "  Messianic  prophecy  breaks  through 
the  night  and  fire  of  judgment  more  intensely  and  brightly 
than  ever.  Now  for  the  first  time  the  Messianic  idea  is  de- 
cisively separated  from  the  present.  The  image  of  the  Messiah 
is  painted  upon  the  pure  ether  of  the  future.  It  becomes  the 
treasure  of  a  faith  which  doubts  the  present,  and  therefore 
has  become  so  much  the  more  spiritual  and  heavenly." 

■  "Old  Testament  History  of  Redemption,"  p.  150. 


CHAPTER  V. 

AMOS. 

The  heading  of  Amos — His  date — Historic  allusions  —  Reign  of  Jero- 
boam II. — Moral  corruption  and  its  inevitable  doom — Idolatry  and 
disorder — The  irony  of  history — A  Southerner — A  peasant-prophet — 
His  images  from  nature — His  intellectual  eminence — His  tremendous 
rhetoric — His  summons  to  the  north — His  stern  denunciations  and 
threats  of  doom — Episode  of  his  personal  history — His  return  to 
Tekoah, 

In  the  uncertainty  which  hangs  over  the  date  of  Joel,  we  place 
Amos  first  in  order  of  the  Twelve  Prophets.  The  heading  of  his 
Book  tells  us  that  he  "  spoke  as  Seer '  concerning  Israel  in  the 
days  of  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  and  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Joash, 
king  of  Israel  two  years  before  the  earthquake." 

This  was  probably  added  by  the  hand  of  later  editors. 
Amos  is  here  called  "  a  seer,"  but  he  tells  us  in  vii.  14,  that 
he  was  neither  a  prophet  {nabt)  nor  a  prophet's  son.  Yet  if 
the  heading  did  not  come  from  the  prophet  himself,  it  is 
evidently  based  on  well-authorized  tradition. 

Uzziah  reigned,  according  to  the  Hebrew  chronology,  from 
B.C.  810-758. 

Jeroboam  II.  was  king  of  Israel,  according  to  the  same  sys 
tem,  from  B.C.  825-773.^  The  two  kings  were  contemporary 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Jeroboam.  But  this 
chronology,  which  has  been  proved  to  be  constructed  on  general 
and  artificial  principles  as  regards  its  details,  must  be  corrected 
by  the  data  furnished  by  the  Assyrian  monuments.  The  sub- 
ject is  very  perplexing,  but  recent  researches  seem  to  show  that 

«  Lit.  "Saw,"  ntn 

•  The  dates  are  uncertain.  Sharpe  places  the  death  of  Jeroboam  H.  in 
764,  Brander  some  years  later. 


36  THE  MmOR   PROPHETS. 

the  nearer  dates  for  Uzziah's  reign  are  B.C.  772-735  ;  and  for 
Jeroboam  II.  from  786-746.' 

The  phrase,  "  two  years  before  the  earthquake,"  gives  us  no 
more  precise  date.  We  know  that  the  earthquake  happened  in 
the  reign  of  Uzziah,  and  that  it  was  so  memorable  as  to  form 
an  epoch.  For  Zechariah,  writing  long  afterwards,  still  appeals  to 
the  terror  it  created  as  to  a  vivid  memory,  and  says,  "  Ye  shall 
flee  like  as  ye  fled  before  the  earthquake  in  the  days  of  Uzziah, 
king  of  Judah."*  Earthquakes  are  by  no  means  unknown  in 
Palestine,  but  they  are  sufficiently  rare  to  produce  a  tremendous 
impression.  But  though  this  earthquake  was  long  remembered, 
its  date  is  nowhere  recorded.  It  was  probably  the  severest 
which  happened  within  the  period  of  Jewish  history,  unless  we 
except  that  mentioned  by  Josephus  a  little  time  before  the  birth 
of  Christ,  in  which  he  says  that  "  some  ten  thousand  were  buried 
under  the  ruined  houses."  ^  Of  the  earthquake  in  Uzziah's  day 
Josephus  says  that  it  took  place  at  the  moment  when  the  king 
was  smitten  with  leprosy  ;  that  the  Temple  was  rent ;  and  that 
the  western  half  of  the  hill  at  Eroge  was  broken  off,  and  rolled 
half  a  mile  to  the  mountain  eastward,  and  there  stayed,  block- 
ing up  the  ways  and  the  king's  gardens.'*  There  is  nothing 
historical  in  this  romance.  Josephus  probably  borrowed  it  from 
one  of  the  Rabbinic  legends  of  the  Hagadah,  and  introduced 
it  for  the  delectation  and  amusement  of  his  Greek  and  Roman 
readers. 

Nor,  unfortunately,  is  there  any  other  allusion  in  Amos  which 
enables  us  to  fix  his  date  with  any  greater  precision.^  In  vi.  2, 
he  bids  them  that  are  at  ease  in  Zion  and  trust  in  the  mountain 
of  Samaria,  to  go  eastwards  to  Calneh,  and  northwards  to 
Hamath  the  Great,  and  westwards  to  Gath,  and  observe 

»  Schrader{"  Cuneiform  Inscriptions"),  prefers  for  Uzziah  the  date  791- 
740,  and  for  Jeroboam  790-749.  The  dates  given  by  Wellhausen,  Kamp- 
hausen  ("Die  Chronologie,  d.  Hebr.,"  Konig,  1883);  Duncker  ("Hist, 
of  Ant.,"  Eng.  tr.)  differ  from  those  of  Ussher  and  from  each  other. 

»  Zech.  xiv.  5.  The  impressions  left  by  the  earthquake  seem  to  be 
traceable  in  Amos  iii.  14  ;  iv.  11  ;  viii.  8. 

3  Josephus,  "Ant."  xiv.  5,  }  2.  *  Josephus,  "  Ant."  ix.  10. 

S  There  were  two  eclipses  of  the  sun  visible  in  Palestine  during  the  age 
of  Amos.  Of  these  one  took  place  (according  to  Hind's  calculation)  on 
June  15,  763  ;  the  other  on  February  9,  784.  But  although  they  cannot  fail 
to  have  produced  a  powerful  effect  on  the  superstition  of  an  ignorant  people, 
the  allusions  to  them  in  the  Prophets  are  of  the  most  general  nature. 


AMOS.  37 

that  they  were  not  to  be  compared  to  Israel  and  Judah.  Yet — 
such  seems  to  be  the  implied  appeal — these  nationalities,  though 
less  guilty  than  the  House  of  Jacob,  had  fallen  under  the 
hands  of  their  enemies.  We  learn  from  the  history  that 
the  pride  of  Gath  had  been  abased  by  Uzziah,  who  brake 
down  its  wall,'  and  inflicted  on  it  a  humiliation  which  — 
sirtce  it  is  not  subsequently  mentioned  with  the  other  four  cities 
of  the  Philistian  Pentapolis  by  Amos  (i.  7,  8),  Zephaniah  (ii.  4), 
or  Zechariah  (ix.  5) — seems  to  have  been  final  and  overwhelming. 
Hamath  the  Great,  originally  made  vassal  by  David,^  and  taken 
by  Solomon,  had  recently  been  added  by  Jeroboam  II.  to  the 
domain  of  Israel.^  Calneh,  more  famous  under  its  later  name 
of  Ktesiphon,  lay  far  away  on  the  Tigris,  some  forty  miles  from 
Babylon,  and  appears  to  have  fallen,  as  it  also  did  at  a  later 
epoch,  under  the  power  of  the  Assyrians.'*  But  the  dates  of  these 
events  are  not  known  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  give  us  a  fixed 
point  de  repere. 

All  that  is  perfectly  clear  is  that  Amos  delivered  his  main 
prophecy  at  Bethel  during  the  most  flourishing  epoch  of  the 
reign  of  Jeroboam  II.  The  victories  of  that  brave  and  power- 
ful prince — the  fourth  of  the  House  of  Jehu,  which  was  destined 
to  perish  with  his  son  Zachariah — had  flung  a  gleam  of  delusive 
prosperity  over  the  imminent  doom  of  Israel  By  that  irony 
of  history  which  is  so  often  observable  in  the  fortunes  of 
nations,  the  Northern  Kingdom  never  seemed  to  be  so  strong  as 
in  the  days  when  it  was  within  sixty  years  of  its  fall  and  ruin. 

Jehu,  whose  savage  massacres  had  founded  the  house  and 
awakened  the  displeasure  of  heaven,  had  in  842  become  more 
or  less  a  vassal  of  Assyria.  At  any  rate  he  was  forced  to  give 
presents  to  the  king  (Shalmaneser  II.).s  Jehoahaz  (c.  815),  seems 
to  have  been  left  unmolested  ;  though  he  or  his  son  paid  tribute 
to  Rammannirari.  Thus  early  had  "the  Romans  of  the 
East,"  as  the  Assyrians  have  been  called,  made  their  power  felt 
in  "  the  land  of  the  House  of  Omri,"  as  they  designate  Israel. 
Joash  (c.  801),  the  son  of  Jehoahaz,  won  three  great  victories 
over  the  Syrians,  and  inflicted  on  the  insolent  aggression  of 
Amaziah,   king  of  Judah,   that  terrible  humiliation  to  which 

»  2  Chron.  xxvi.  6.  a  2  Sam.  viii.  9,  10. 

3  2  Chron.  viii.  3,  4  ;  2  Kings  xiv.  28. 

«  In  B.C.  739,  it  was  conquered  by  Tiglath-Pileser  ;  Isa.  x.  9. 
S  So  we  learn  from  tlie  Black  Obelisk  in  the  British  Museum. 


38  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

Amos  (ix.  ii)  seems  to  allude  when  he  speaks  of  the  "breaches 
and  ruins  of  the  booth  of  David  that  is  fallen."  Jeroboam  II., 
the  great-grandson  of  Jehu,  raised  Israel  to  the  zenith  of  its 
power  and  splendour.  The  predominance  of  the  Northern 
Kingdom  was  extended  over  the  whole  range  of  the  ancient 
domains  of  Solomon.  Northward  it  extended  not  only  to 
Damascus,  which  was  taken  by  Jeroboam,  but  even  to  the  far- 
off  Hamath,  on  the  Orontes.'  Southward  it  reached  to  the 
Wady  of  the  Arabah,  the  torrent  of  willows,  which  divided 
Moab  from  Edom.^  Moab  had  fallen  under  his  sway.  Moab 
had  acknowledged  the  suzerainty  of  Israel  in  former  times,  and 
had  paid  heavy  tribute  of  sheep  and  lambs  ;  but  it  had  revolted 
and  regained  its  independence  after  the  death  of  Ahab.^  It 
was  now  re-subdued,  as  had  been  prophesied  by  some  unnamed 
prophet — not  improbably  Jonah,  son  of  Amittai  * — in  a  prophecy 
preserved  both  by  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah.  This  passage  described 
the  devastation  of  Kir  of  Moab,  the  wild  wailing  of  the 
women  huddled  together  at  the  fords  of  Arnon,  and  the  ruin 
of  cornfields  and  vineyards  by  the  heathen,  perhaps  by  hordes 
of  Bedouin  Arabs,  whose  alliance  Jeroboam  may  have 
secured.5 

Jonah  had  been  a  prophet  in  the  earlier  days  of  Jeroboam, 
perhaps  before  success  had  ended  in  corruption.  But  by  the 
time  of  the  manhood  of  Amos  it  was  too  evident  to  the  illu- 
minated eye  of  prophetic  intuition  that  wealth  had  led  to  vice, 
and  that  vice  was  the  prelude  to  decay  and  destruction.  He 
could  not  therefore  be  deceived  by  the  ease  and  peace  and  glory 
which  lulled  the  contemporary  priests  and  prophets  into  a  sense 
of  security.  He  held  fast  to  the  eternal  law  that  sin  is  weakness, 
and  that  doom  dogs  the  heels  of  crime.  He  saw  a  complication 
of  disorders  which  were  enhanced  rather  than  compensated  by 
the  semblance  of  prosperity.  He  saw  on  every  side  habitual 
drunkenness,  disgraceful  self-indulgence,  the  callous  selfishness 
of  ease,  murder,  oppression,  robbery,  total  forgetfulness  of 
God's  essential  requirements,  a  fatal  contentment  in  outward 

'  Amos  vi.  14.  '  Isa.  xv.  7 ;  Amos,  I.  c.  3  2  Kings  iii.  4,  5. 

*  As  Hitzig  conjectures.  Modern  critics  venture  to  regard  Isa.  xv.  xvi. 
as  a  prophecy  of  Jonah.  Renan  describes  it  as  a  "  un  long  huilement  de 
rage  contre  Moab,  entremdle  de  jeux  de  mots  sanglants,  et  de  lugubres 
plaisanteries  "  ("  Hist,  du  Peuple  dTsrael,"  ii.  417). 

S  Isa.  xvi.  6-14  ;  Jcr.  xlviii.  1-47. 


AMOS.  39 

ritual.  Debtors  were  pitilessly  sold  as  slaves,  the  clothes  of 
the  poor  were  taken  in  pledge.  The  violation  of  the  second 
commandment  by  mean  and  unauthorized  symbols  of  Jehovah — 
the  adoration  of  cherubim  which  the  prophets  contemptuously 
described  as  calf-worship — still  triumphed  after  it  had  lasted  for 
a  century  and  a  half  at  Dan  and  Bethel.  Nor  had  the  House 
of  Jehu  succeeded  in  extirpating  the  darker  and  more  polluted 
worship  of  Baal  and  Ashtoreth,  so  that  a  temple  to  the  Queen 
of  Heaven  still  stood  at  Samaria.'  The  priests,  like  Eli's  sons, 
turned  robbers  and  spoiled  the  bands  of  pilgrims  on  their  way 
to  the  sacred  places.^  Gilgal  was  a  scene  of  heathen  abomina- 
tion.' The  dark  groves  of  the  local  sanctuaries  in  the  High 
Places,  were,  as  in  all  ages,  obumbratrices  sceleriem. 

Amos  would  have  been  no  true  prophet  if  he  had  not  clearly 
seen  that  because  right  was  right,  and  because  God  was  God, 
such  a  state  of  things  could  not  last.  How  often  has  the  state 
of  affairs  in  guilty  nations  resembled  that  in  the  days  of  Amos  ! 
Persia  had  never  seemed  to  occupy  a  more  sovereign  position 
than  when,  in  B.C.  388,  her  king,Artaxerxes  II.,  commandingly 
dictated  the  Peace  of  Antalcidas  :  yet  this  was  within  sixty 
years  of  the  day  when  she  fell  before  the  arms  of  Macedon. 
When  Papal  Rome  seemed  to  have  the  world  at  her  feet,  and 
priests  stood  at  the  altar  of  St.  Peter's  raking  into  their 
coffers  the  uncounted  gold  of  the  pilgrims  who  flocked  to  the 
great  Jubilee  of  I3CX3,  Pope  Boniface  VIII.  was  within  three 
years  of  the  day  when  he  received  at  Anagni  that  cruel 
blow  upon  the  cheek  from  which  it  may  be  said  that  the 
dignity  of  the  Papacy  has  never  wholly  recovered.  In  1587 
Philip  II.  seemed  the  undisputed  autocrat  of  two  hemi- 
spheres, and  the  New  World  was  pouring  into  his  treasuries 
its  rivers  of  gold;  yet  the  next  year  the  defeat  of  his  Invincible 
Armada  by  the  audacious  caravels  of  England  began  the  dis- 
solution which  made  Spain  go  to  pieces  like  one  of  her  own  un- 
wieldy galleons  in  a  stormy  sea.  In  1667  Louis  XIV.  seemed  to 
be  the  one  Grand  Monarque  of  the  world,  and  burnt  the  bills 
for  his  palace  at  Versailles  lest  their  immense  amounts  should 
witness  fatally  to  his  pomp  and  extravagance  ;  but  in  the  days 
of  his  successor,  when  men  famished  at  the  very  gates  of  that 
gilded  palace,  the  Ancien  Regime  received  its  death-blow,  and 

'  a  Kings  xiii.  6.  »  Hos.  v.  i ;  vi.  8,  9. 

3  Amos  iv.  4  :   Hos.  iv.  15,  ix.  15. 


40  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

the  fearful  oufbisrst  of  the  Revolution  hurled  the  grandson  of 
his  successor  upon  the  guillotine.  Had  there  been  prophets  in 
the  days  of  Artaxerxes  II.  and  Boniface  VIII.  and  Philip  II. 
and  Louis  XIV.,  they  would  have  spoken  to  guilty  kings  and 
luxurious  courtiers  in  such  words  as  Amos  addressed  to  the  most 
powerful  monarch  of  the  House  of  Jehu. 

It  was  the  sense  that  all  Divine  and  human  laws  were  being 
violated  with  insolence  and  impunity  which  flashed  its  electric 
thrill  into  his  heart,  and  sent  him  from  his  peaceful  flocks 
to  warn  ancient  nations  and  reprove  mighty  kings.  He 
was  but  a  peasant.  He  was  no  prophet  or  prophet's  son. 
He  had  not  been  trained  in  theological  schools  like  those 
of  Samuel  and  Elisha.  He  was  a  herdsman  who  fed  his  flocks 
in  Tekoah,  six  miles  south  of  Bethlehem,  and  about  twelve 
miles  from  Jerusalem.'  He  belonged,  therefore,  to  the  Southern 
Kingdom,  but  when  amid  those  rugged  hills  his  heart  burned  hot 
within  him,  he  felt  that  the  distinction  between  the  two  kingdoms 
ought  to  be  no  barrier  against  the  promulgation  of  the  truths 
which  God  bade  him  utter.  Indeed,  he  still  regarded  the  two 
kingdoms  as  being  ideally  and  properly  one.,  and  prophesied 
that  their  unity  should  be  hereafter  restored." 

I  have  called  him  a  peasant-prophet,  and  it  is  probable  that 
he  worked  for  hire,  tending  flocks  which  were  not  his  own.  It 
is  true  that  the  word  "liP.J  {noked),  by  which  he  is  called  (i.  i), 
is  applied  also  to  Mesha,  the  great  sheep-master,  the  Sheykh  of 
Moab,  and  might  imply  the  proprietor  of  large  cattle  runs  on 
the  pastures.3  But  Amos  seems  to  disclaim  all  rank  ;  in  vii.  14 
he  calls  himself  by  another  name  for  herdsman  {bo/cet),  and  adds 
that  he  was  also  (as  the  A.  V.  renders  it)  "  a  gatherer  of  syco- 
more  fruit."  If  this  rendering  were  correct  it  would  imply  that 
the  position  of  Amos  was  exceptionally  humble  ;  for  the  fruit 
of  the  wild  fig  is  almost  worthless.  It  is  barely  edible,  and  is  only 
enten  by  the  poorest  of  the  people.''  But  the  phrase  should  rather 
be  rendered  as  in  the  R.  V.,  "  a  dresser  of  sycomore  irces."'  The 

'  Robinson,  "  Bib.  Res.,"  i.  486.  "The  wilds  of  Tekoah  "  (2  Chron. 
.XX.  20  ;   I  Mace.  ix.  33). 

-  Amos  ix.  11-15  ;  comp.  Hos.  iii.  5. 

"1  Prof.  Gandcll  (in  the  "  Speakers'  Commentary  ")  says  that  the  keeper 
of  a  particular  breed  of  sheep  or  goats  with  soft  wool  or  linir  is  ?iill  called 
by  the  Arabs  nakkAd. 

4  Thonisun,  "  The  Laud  and  the  Book,  '  p.  23. 


AMOS.  41 

Hebrew  word  "dresser"  is  represented  in  the  Septuagint  by 
Ki'ii^iov,  and  in  the  Vulgate  by  vellicans  ("  nipper  "  or  "  pincher  "). 
The  sycomore  fruit  can  only  be  ripened  by  puncturing  it,'  and  to 
do  this  was  the  humble  task  of  Amos.  Nothing  is  said  of  the 
oil  for  which,  as  the  Talmud  tells  us,  Tekoah  was  famed  beyond 
any  other  district  in  Palestine.*  To  tend  alien  flocks  on  those 
dry  and  sandy  uplands,  and  to  look  after  the  sycomore  trees 
which  produced  a  scanty  revenue,  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
task  of  this  great  and  early  prophet  of  the  judgments  of  God. 

And  just  as  we  trace  again  and  again  in  the  Psalms  of  David 
his  youthful  familiarity  with  the  sights  and  sounds  of  nature 
during  his  life  as  a  shepherd-boy  on  the  hills  of  Bethlehem,  so 
do  we  trace  it  in  the  pages  of  this  peasant-prophet  whose  lot 
was  cast  in  the  same  region.  No  other  prophet  furnishes  us 
with  these  metaphors  from  scenes  of  nature  in  such  fresh,  vivid, 
and  rich  variety.  In  him  we  read  of  the  iron  sledges  of  the 
thresher  ;  ^  of  stormy  hurricanes  ;  "*  of  the  cedars  and  oaks  with 
their  deep  roots  ;5  of  the  hungry  lion  roaring  in  the  forest  ;^ 
of  the  snared  bird  ;  "i  of  the  shepherd  tearing  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  lion  two  legs  and  the  piece  of  an  ear  ;^  of  hooks  and 
fishers'  netting  ;5  of  the  rain  within  three  months  of  the  harvest ;'° 
of  partial  showers ; "  of  mildew,  and  yellow  blight  ;  ^^  of  hills 
and  wind  and  sunrise  '^  of  Pleiades  and  Orion  ; ''»  of  mourn- 
ing husbandmen  ;  '5  of  dangers  from  bears  and  serpents  ;  '*  of 
locusts,  and  the  king's  mowings  and  the  after-gtowth  ; ''  of 
baskets  of  summer  fruit  ; "  of  earthquakes  and  eclipses,  and 
corn  sifted  in  a  sieve,  and  refuse  wheat,  and  mended  booths,  and 
the  sower,  and  the  ploughman,  and  the  reaper,  and  the  treader 
of  the  vintage.'^ 

"  It  is  natural,"  says  St.  Jerome,  "  that  all  who  exercise 
an  art  should  speak  in  the  terms  of  that  art,  and  that  each 
should  bring  similitudes  from  that  wherein  he  hath  spent  his 
life.  .  .  .  Amos  the  prophet,  who  was  a  shepherd  among  shep- 
herds, and  that  not  in  cultivated  places  and  among  vineyards 

'  Tlieophrastus,  "  H.  Plant,"  iv.  2.     Pliny,  "  H.  N.,"  xiii.  14. 
'  "  The  whole  country  is  now  deserterl  except  by  the  Arabs,  who  pastme 
their  flocks  on  those  burren  hills  "  (Thomson,  p.  606). 

3  i.  3.  ■♦  i.  4.  5  ii.  9.  6  iii.  4.  7  ijj.  5. 

*  iii.  12.  9  iv.  2.  '"  iv.  7.  "  iv.  7.  '*  iv   9. 

'3  iv.  13.  M  V.  8.  'S  V.  16.  '*  V.  19.  "7  vii.  i. 

'*  viii.  I.  '9  viii.  9  ;  ix.  9,  14. 


42  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

and  woods  nnd  green  meadows,  but  in  the  wide  waste  of  the 
desert,  where  were  witnessed  the  fierceness  of  lions  and  the 
destruction  of  cattle,  used  the  language  of  his  pursuits  and 
called  the  awful  and  terrible  voice  of  the  Lord  the  roaring  of 
lions,  and  compared  the  overthrow  of  the  cities  of  Israel  to  the 
lonely  places  of  shepherds,  or  the  drought  of  mountains." 

St.  Jerome,  who  was  a  little  too  much  given  to  sweeping 
generalizations,  applies  to  Amos  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  "  Kude 
in  speech  but  not  in  knowledge."'  Rude  in  knowledge  he  cer- 
tainly was  not.  The  difference  of  cultivation  between  man  and 
man  in  those  days  when  books  were  few  was  far  less  marked 
than  in  these  days  in  which  many  run  to  and  fro  and  knowledge 
is  increased.  The  distinction  in  those  days  between  the  learned 
and  the  unlearned  was  the  distinction  between  the  gifted  and 
the  ungifted.  Of  anything  which  we  call  learning  there  was 
little  or  none.  There  could  not  be  when  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  a  library,  and  when  books  were  exceedingly  few.  How- 
ever obscure  the  lot,  however  limited  the  circumstances  of 
Amos,  there  is  not  a  trace  in  his  book  of  any  want  of  culture  and 
refinement.  Five  words  spelt  in  an  unusual  manner  are  the 
only  sign  of  provincialism,  and  it  is  probable  that  these  only 
represent  the  softer  pronunciation  of  Southern  Judah.  As  for 
general  knowledge  Amos  seems  to  have  been  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  every  form  of  national  culture  and  poetic  expres- 
sion whiclf  existed  in  his  own  day.  The  splendour  and  intensity 
of  rhetoric  in  which  he  is  surpassed  by  Isaiah  alone  must  have 
come  in  part  from  the  natural  gift  with  which  God  had  endowed 
him  for  the  high  purpose  of  his  life  ;  but  it  must  have  been  en- 
hanced by  sedulous  cultivation.  The  poor  herdsman  and  tree- 
dresser  writes  with  all  the  power  and  finish  of  a  born  poet  and 
a  born  orator. 

We  sliall  better  estimate  this  fine  and  vivid  force  when  we 
consider  the  actual  strophes  of  the  prophet's  message.  Mean- 
while we  may  instance,  in  passing,  the  tremendous  rhetoric  of 
such  passages  as — 

"The  Lord  slall  roar  from  Zion,  and  utter  His  voice  from 
Jerusalem,  and  the  pastures  of  the  shepherds  shall  mourn,  the 
top  of  Carmel  shall  wither  ''  (i.  2). 

"  You  only  have  I  known  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth,  there- 
fore I  will  visit  upon  you  all  your  iniquities  "  (ill.  2). 
'  Imperitus  sermone  sed  non  scientia. 


AMOS.  4^ 

"Therefore  thus  will  I  do  unto  thee,  O  Israel ;  and  because  I 
will  do  this  unto  thee,  prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  O  Israel "  (iv. 
12).  Here  it  will  be  observed  that  by  a  terrible  aposiopesis  the 
thus  and  this  are  left  undefined.  Israel  is  threatened  with  a 
shapeless  dread. 

Again,  could  any  poet  have  used  a  more  overwhelming  and 
startling  metaphor  than — 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  :  As  the  shepherd  teareth  out  of  the 
7nouth  of  the  lion  two  legs  and  the  piece  of  an  ear,  so  shall  the 
children  of  Israel  be  rescued  that  sit  in  Samaria  in  the  corner  of 
a  couch  and  on  the  damask  of  a  bed." 

And  the  reader  will  find  passages  no  less  forcible  again  and 
again,  full  of  concise  energy  and  striking  refrains. 

It  is  the  lot  of  some  men  to  emerge  for  a  single  day  or  a  single 
hour  in  their  lives  into  the  full  light  of  history,  while  all  the  rest 
of  their  lives  lies  in  the  deepest  shadow.  For  a  moment  we 
know  them,  and  then  they  disappear.  Amos  is  one  of  these. 
We  possess  the  little  roll  of  his  prophecy,  and  we  know  but  one 
incident  in  his  career.  That  incident  is  told  in  seven  verses  of 
the  seventh  chapter  (vii.  10-17). 

From  the  general  tenor  of  the  Book  we  learn,  in  accordance 
with  this  incident,  that  Amos  belonged  to  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 
The  attempt  of  the  Jews  to  identify  him  with  Amoz,  the  father 
of  Isaiah,  is  an  absurdity,  founded  only  on  one  of  their  many 
a  priori  hypotheses.  Not  only  are  the  two  names  Amoz 
and  Amos  entirely  different,'  but  the  rank  and  position  of 
Isaiah  and  his  family — a  family  partly  priestly  and  partly  per- 
haps royal — differ  entirelyfrom  those  of  the  herdsman  of  Tekoah. 
But  what  his  Book  reveals  about  him,  and  what  is  confirmed  by 
the  one  brief  autobiographic  notice,  is  this.  Judah  was  by  no 
means  free  from  transgression,  which  called  for  God's  judg- 
ments ;  yet  the  state  of  Judah  was  not  nearly  so  deplorable  as 
that  of  her  more  powerful  and  splendid  neighbour.  Amos  did 
not  look  only  at  the  external.  There  was  no  glamour  for  him  in 
the  military  glory  and  luxurious  wealth  which  might  have  awaked 
the  confidence  and  admiration  of  a  less  righteous  and  more 
superficial  observer.  He  was  so  much  shocked  by  the  moral 
condition  of  Israel,  and  the  crimes  which  ran  riot  in  her  pros- 

*  DlOy  perhaps  "burden-bearer";  pOK  "vigorous."  Rabbinic  tra- 
dition groundless]/  calls  Amos  a  brother  of  King  Uzziah 


44  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

peiity,  that  he  could  not  resist  the  passionate  prophetic  impulse 
which  drove  him  from  the  pastures  of  Tekoah  to  the  precincts 
of  the  northern  capital.  While  he  was  following  the  ewes  great 
with  young  ones,  God  filled  his  heart  with  the  indignation  of 
an  outraged  moral  sense,  and  in  a  series  of  vivid  images  he  asks 
whether  an  irresistible  cause  must  not  produce  an  inevitable 
effect .''  "  The  lion  hath  roared,  who  will  not  fear  ?  the  Lord  God 
hath  spoken,  who  can  but  prophesy  ?  "  (iii.  3-8). 

In  his  simplicity,  therefore,  conscious  of  the  awful  message 
which  he  had  to  deliver,  he  shouldered  his  staff,  and  made  his 
way  direct  to  Samaria  and  Bethel.  It  was  no  distant  journey. 
It  is  but  twelve  miles  from  Jerusalem  to  Bethel.  So  small  is 
the  extent  of  Palestine  that  I  have  ridden  in  a  single  day  from 
Jerusalem  to  the  top  of  Gerizim,  bad  and  hilly  as  the  roads  are. 
But  the  sedentary  and  stationary  character  of  Eastern  life  makes 
any  journey  seem  a  most  important  matter,  and  a  change  of 
residence  is  a  great  event.  Nothing  but  the  strongest  impelling 
cause  would  have  induced  a  peasant  of  Judah  to  go  and  testify 
to  the  cities  of  Israel.  To  do  so  required  a  greater  courage 
than  for  a  Jewish  prophet  to  preach  against  the  sins  of  the 
people  of  Nineveh.' 

Life  in  the  East  is  very  simple,  and  is  sustained  at  a 
very  small  cost.  Amos  could  easily  procure  the  scanty 
necessaries  of  his  humble  livelihood,  but  in  other  respects 
the  sacrifice  involved  in  abandoning  his  quiet  uplands  and 
grazing  flocks  for  the  feverish  and  guilty  atmosphere  of 
cities  must  have  been  a  heavy  trial  to  him.  And  whichever 
way  he  turned,  his  spirit  must  have  been  deeply  stirred  within 
him  as  he  saw  the  Northern  Kingdom  wholly  given  up  to  idolatry 
and  corruption.  It  is  to  Israel  all  but  exclusively  that  his  mes- 
sage was  addressed.  To  Judah  and  Zion  and  Beer-sheba  he 
alludes  but  incidentally,"  but  he  speaks  again  and  again  to 
Israel,  Samaria,  Bethel,  the  House  of  Israel,  the  Virgin  of  Israel, 
the  sanctuaries  of  Israel,  Jacob,  the  House  of  Jacob,  the  House 
of  Joseph,  the  remnant  of  Joseph,  the  afflictions  of  Joseph.^ 
The  direct  call  to  him  was,  "  Go  prophesy  to  My  people  Israel." 
The  fact  proves  that  the  century-long  reprieve  of  Judah  was  due 
to  her  less-developed  wickedness.  But  Israel  had  filled  to  the  full 

»  Rcnan,  "  Hist,  du  Peuple  d' Israel,"  45. 

•  Ui.  I  ;  vi.  1 ;  V.  5.  3  See  Pusey,  p.  150. 


AMOS.  45 

the  cup  of  her  iniquity.  Amos  saw  around  him  the  worst  signs 
of  a  national  decadence.  He  saw  the  insolence  of  the  rich  and 
the  oppression  of  the  poor.  He  saw  extortion,  greed,  bribery, 
perverted  justice,  iniquitous  bargains,  tampering  with  the  price 
of  corn,  hard  usury,  ruthless  severity  to  debtors,  false  balances, 
false  weights.  He  saw  callous  luxury,  shameless  debauchery, 
drunken  revelries.  The  corruption  had  spread  to  the  princes 
and  to  the  women.  The  poor  were  starving  in  sullen  misery 
among — 

"  Men  full  of  meat  whom  most  God's  heart  abhors." 

The  rich  and  the  ruling  lolled  on  couches  inlaid  with  ivory  and 
covered  with  the  rich  tapestry  from  the  looms  of  Damascus, 
while  their  uaheeded  brethren  craved  even  for  handfuls  of  com. 
Stung  to  wrath  by  pity  Amos  came  forth  and  made  the  land 
ring  with  his  assertion  of  God's  equal  Fatherhood  and  eternal 
righteousness.  Such  a  state  of  things  could  not  last.  Oppression 
and  robbery  may  be  backed  by  forces  seemingly  irresistible,  but 
they  are  of  their  own  nature  foredoomed  to  destruction.  Just 
as  the  English  poet  represents  the  Druid  consoling  the  British 
warrior-queen  with  the  certainty  that — 

"  Rome  shall  perish  :  write  that  word 
On  the  blood  that  she  hath  spilt  ; 
Perish,  hopeless  and  abhorred, 
Deep  in  ruin  as  in  guilt  1 " 

so  Amos  declares,  as  he  watches  the  wrongs  of  the  **  sons  and 
daughters  of  misery,  and  the  multitude  ready  to  perish,"  that 
Israel  cannot  survive.  It  is  evident  that  his  prophecies  pro- 
duced a  profound  impression,  which  at  last  culminated  in  the 
alarmed  interference  of  the  leading  authorities.  In  the  seventh 
chapter  he  represents  God  as  having  designed  to  send  a  plague 
of  locusts  ;  but  after  they  had  eaten  the  aftermath  of  the  king's 
mowings  He  had  withdrawn  the  peril  at  the  prophet's  interces- 
sion. Again,  there  was  the  threat  of  some  symbolic  conflagra- 
tion so  intense  that  it  should  even  burn  up  the  sea.  This,  too, 
was  withdrawn  at  the  prophet's  prayer.  But,  after  that,  he  saw 
the  Lord  standing  on  a  well-built  city-wall  with  a  plumbline  in 
His  hand.  It  was  but  that  line  of  emptiness,  that  plummet  of 
destruction,  which  was  afterwards  to  be  stretched  over  Judah 


46  THE  MINOR  PROPHETS. 

also,'  and  God  would  not  any  longer  be  interceded  with,  noi 
pass  by  any  more  the  transgressions  of  Israel.  "  And  the  high 
places  of  Isaac  shall  be  desolate,  and  the  sanctuaries  of  Israel 
shall  be  laid  waste  ;  and  I  will  rise  against  the  House  of  Jero- 
boam with  the  sword." 

So  startling  a  prophecy,  delivered  by  the  prophet  of  a  rival 
kingdom  against  the  whole  nation  and  its  royal  house,  could  not 
be  passed  by.  The  person  of  a  prophet  was  not  inviolate,  and 
both  before  and  after  the  days  of  Amos  prophets  were  imperilled 
and  even  slain  by  the  wrath  of  mobs  or  of  kings.  Still  they  were 
recognized  as  a  privileged  class,  and  when  their  words  had  pro- 
duced on  the  multitude  so  deep  an  impression  as  those  of  Amos, 
it  was  not  easy  to  silence  or  interfere  with  them.  Amaziah, 
however,  the  high  priest  of  Bethel,  was  the  representative  and  pro- 
tector of  the  popular  religion,  and  he  thought  it  time  to  exert 
hie  power.  He  went  to  Jeroboam  and  accused  the  prophet  of  a 
treason  which  was  likely  to  produce  dangerous  discontent,  for 
*'  the  land  is  not  able  to  bear  all  his  words."  He  doubly  mis- 
represented what  Amos  had  said — for  Amos  had  not  said,  as  he 
quoted  him — ''Jeroboam  shall  die  by  the  sword";  and  while 
he  had  prophesied  the  devastation  of  the  high  places  and 
sanctuaries  he  had  not  said  that  "  Israel  should  be  led  away 
captive." 

"Whether  Jeroboam  received  some  truer  account  of  the  real 
words  of  Amos,  or  whether  he  respected  his  prophetic  character 
and  saw  the  general  justice  of  his  denunciation,  we  cannot  tell. 
It  may  be  that  he  treated  the  priest's  delation  of  him  with  the 
superb  insoucicoice  of  a  powerful  conqueror,  who  did  not  trouble 
himself  with  the  opinions  of  the  peasantry.  However  that 
may  be,  it  is  clear  that  he  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  take 
any  overt  step,  and  apparently  he  left  the  priest  to  manage  the 
affair  as  he  thought  best. 

From  Amaziah's  point  of  view  it  cannot  be  said  that  he  was 
either  cruel  or  intolerant  ;  he  was  only  cynical.  "  Seer,"  he 
said  to  Amos,  "go,  flee  thee  away  unto  the  land  of  Judah, 
and  there  eat  bread,  and  there  thou  mayest  prophesy.  But  at 
Bethel  thou  shalt  not  prophesy  any  more,  because  it  is  a  royal 
sanctuary,  and  it  is  a  seat  of  the  kingdom." 

Thus  did  the  priest  of  Bethel  openly  betray  his  contempt  for 
the  piophet's  calling,  and  tried  to  make  its  regulation  a  mere 
»  Isa.  xxxiv.  II,  17  ;  2  Kings  xxi.  13  ;  Lam.  ii.  8. 


AMOS.  47 

affair  of  police.  That  any  genuine  Israelite,  with  all  the  past 
traditions  of  Israel,  and  the  recent  memories  of  Samuel,  Elijah, 
and  Elisha,  could  act  thus,  showed  a  deeply  seated  apostasy 
from  old  tradition. 

And  it  kindled  the  deep  wrath  of  the  prophet.  Turning  upon 
the  high  priest  of  the  golden  calf  as  Jeremiah  turned  upon 
Pashur  when  he  prophesied  that  his  name  should  be  no  more 
Pashur  but  Magor-missabib,  "  terror  on  every  side,"  so  Amos 
denounced  to  Amaziah  that  the  destruction  was  now  very  near, 
and  that  it  would  fall  personally  upon  him.  High  as  was  his 
pride  of  place,  yet  in  the  day  of  Assyrian  invasion  his  wife 
should  be  reduced  to  earn  her  living  by  infamy,  his  sons  and 
daughters  should  be  slain  by  the  sword,  his  inheritance  should 
be  divided  among  aliens,  and  as  Israel  should  go  into  captivity, 
so  the  priest  himself  should  die  in  a  polluted  land. 

How  and  when  the  doom  was  fulfilled  we  have  no  record  ; 
but  after  the  denunciation  Amos,  before  he  departed,  added  yet 
one  more  utterance.  He  was  shown  in  vision  a  basket  of  sum- 
mer fruit.  Its  ripeness  portended  that  the  sins  of  Israel  were 
now  ripe  for  punishment.  The  songs  of  the  temple  would  be 
turned  to  bowlings.  There  would  be  plenty  of  corpses  every- 
where, and  they  would  be  cast  forth  in  the  silent  anguish  of 
despair. 

After  he  had  delivered  this  message,  plain  beyond  all  his 
previous  ones,  Amos  yielded  to  force.  Feeling  that  his  mission 
was  accomplished,  he  returned  to  his  native  Tekoah,  where 
he  probably  committed  to  writing,  and  made  public  the  abbre- 
viated book  of  his  oral  prophecies.  In  the  calm  of  his  rural 
life  he  would  have  abundant  leisure  to  elaborate  his  words,  and 
it  is  not  improbable  that  the  Messianic  epilogue  was  an  after- 
thought of  hope  and  consolation,  not  delivered  to  the  idolaters 
of  Bethel  and  Samaria,  but  addressed  in  writing  to  all  who 
waited  for  the  consolation  of  Israel.  Constant  and  indig- 
nant references  to  the  violent  suppression  of  his  testimony  occur 
throughout  his  Book.' 

After  this  we  have  not  a  single  detail  respecting  him.  Late 
and  worthless  legend  says  that  Amaziah  first  beat  him  with 
leaded  thongs,^  and  then  that  Hosea,  the  son  of  Amaziah,  broke 

'  Amos  ii.  12  ;  v.  10,  13  ;  vi.  3,  &c. 

»  *'  Lives  of  the  Prophets,"  printed  with  the  works  of  Epiphanius,  ii.  145 
(Knobel,  "  Prophetismus,"  146). 


48  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

his  temples  with  a  stake.  He  was  carried  dying  to  his  own 
land.'  The  story  is  an  invention,  and  Amos  probably  died 
peacefully  at  Tekoah,  where  his  tomb  was  still  shown  in  the 
days  of  Jerome. 

«  Heb.  xi.  35.     aXXoi  Si  Irw/tTravi'trSijav. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  PROPHECY   OF  AMOS. 

General  subject  of  his  prophecy— Five  main  sections  :— I.  The  first  section  : 
Denunciation  of  seven  nations— Syria,  Philistia,  Tyre,  Edom,  Ammon, 
Moab,  Judah— The  iniquities  of  Israel— Her  fourfold  transgressions— 
Her  base  ingratitude — Noble  moral  indignation.  II.  The  Condemna- 
tion—i.  Significance  of  his  mission— 2.  The  arraignment— a.  For  civil 
oppression— /3.  For  luxury —y.  For  impenitence.  III.  The  final  doom 
— I.  The  dirge— 2.  Renewed  accusations— 3.  Reproof  of  formalism— 
4.  Fresh  menaces — 5.  The  doom  once  more.  IV.  Four  visions  and  a 
history.    V.  Last  warnings— One  vision  more — Last  words  of  hope. 

We  have  now  seen  all  that  is  known  of  Amos,  and  of  the  age  in 
which  he  wrote,  and  the  conditions  by  which  he  was  surrounded. 
We  are  therefore  in  a  position  to  turn  with  intelligence  to  the 
Book  of  his  prophecy. 

His  whole  message  centres  in  the  common  prophetic  convic- 
tion that  God  is  the  sole  and  righteous  Governor  of  the  world, 
judging  the  people  righteously,  and  when  they  rebel,  dashing 
them  to  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel. 

His  Book  falls  into  five  main  sections.  I.  In  the  first  of  these 
(chaps,  i.  ii.),  he  arraigns  Israel  and  the  neighbouring  nations 
for  their  guilt,  and  threatens  them  with  Divine  punishment. 

2.  He  establishes  specially  the  iniquity,  and  therefore  the 
necessary  doom  of  Samaria  (chaps,  iii.  iv.). 

3.  He  mingles  his  continued  warnings  and  reproaches  with 
lamentations  for  the  approaching  calamity  (v.  vi.). 

4.  He  narrates  five  visions  (vii.  l-ix.  10),  interposing  be- 
tween the  third  and  fourth  visions  the  episode  of  his  personal 
history,  when  his  work  was  violently  interrupted  by  the  jealousy 
and  alarm  of  the  priest  Amaziah  (vii.  10-17). 

5.  He  ends  with  an  epilogue  of  hope  and  promise  for  the 
future^  when  punishment  has  accomplished  its  destined  work 
(ix.  7-15). 

Let  us  proceed  to  consider  each  section  more  in  detail. 

5 


50  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

I.  The  First  Section  (i.  ii.). 

Standing  as  it  were  on  his  prophetic  watchtower,  Amos 
surveys  the  people  which  lay  around  Judah  and  Israel.  They, 
too,  were  guilty  ;  their  fate  would  involve  and  be  involved  in 
the  fate  of  the  holy  nation. 

After  the  heading,  which  may  be  the  addition  of  a  later 
editor,  he  opens  as  it  were  with  a  mighty  peal  of  thunder, 
which  from  the  energy  and  vividness  of  his  imagery  could  not 
fail  to  awaken  attention.* 

"  The  Lord  will  roar  from  Zion, 
From  Jerusalem  will  He  utter  His  voice  ; 
And  the  pastures  of  the  shepherds  shall  mourn, 
And  the  head  of  Carmel  shall  be  parched." 

The  voice  of  the  Lord  which  speaks  in  this  instance  is  a  voice 
of  judgment  and  wrath,  the  voice  which  breaketh  the  cedar- 
trees  and  discovereth  the  thick  bushes  ;  and  before  its  flame 
the  whole  land  is  scorched,  from  the  south-eastern  habitations 
of  the  sheperds  in  Amos's  own  home  of  Tekoah  to  the  far  north- 
western, where  the  purple  outline  of  Carmel  rose  in  the  distance, 
and  where  all  the  verdure  and  flowery  loveliness  is  dried  as 
before  the  Sirocco. 

Then  with  the  solemn  opening,  "Thus  saith  the  Eternal,"  he 
addresses  seven  nations  before  he  finally  pronounces  the  sweep- 
ing, crushing  doom  on  Israel,  for  whom  his  mission  was  mainly 
intended. 

I.  He  begins  with  Syria,  the  most  distant  and  least  akin. 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord :  For  the  three  transgressions  of 
Damascus  and  for  the  four  ;  I  take  it  not  back." 

The  same  powerful  prelude  introduces  each  of  the  eight 
strophes,  and  then  by  a  refrain,  of  which  the  power  is  felt  in  all 
literature,  the  impression  on  the  memory  and  imagination  is 
greatly  deepened.  The  phrase,  "  for  the  three  transgressions 
and  for  the  four,"  has  a  manifold  significance."     It  implies  that 

'  How  much  the  force  of  the  words  was  felt  is  shown  from  their  recur 
rence  in  Joel  iii.  i6.  Wilton  in  his  "  Negeb  "  (p.  42),  points  out  how 
Amos  alludes  to  the  lion  more  frequently  than  other  prophets.  Lions  seem 
to  have  abounded  in  this  south  country,  and  "  the  prophet  of  the  Negeb  " 
was  probably  familiar  with  them. 

•  For  interesting  parallels  to  this  phrase  see  Job  v.  19  ;  xxxiii.  29, 
••  twice  and  Mirice  ;  "  Prov.  xxx.  &c. 


THE  PROPHECY  OF  AMOS.  5 1 

the  wickedness  which  called  down  the  judgment  was  growing 
and  increasing  from  year  to  year. 

The  fourth  transgression  is  the  most  heinous,  but  it  does  not 
stand  alone.  It  is  but  the  epitome  of  age-long  misdoing  ;  the 
crimson  flower  of  crime  which  has  long  been  immanent  in  the  sap 
of  the  tree.  Sin  is  cumulative.  Beginning  like  the  letting  out  of 
water  it  increases  step  by  step  in  volume  and  intensity.  A 
nation  may  long  hold  in  its  hands  the  cup  of  its  abominations,  but 
it  is  inevitable  that  at  last  when  it  has  grown  more  accustomed  to 
sin,  more  bold  in  defiance  of  God's  law,  it  fills  the  goblet  to  the 
brim,  and  it  runs  over,  and  the  time  has  come  when  it  must 
be  filled  no  longer  with  "the  wine  of  its  fornications  "  but  with 
"the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God."  In  no  instance  but  the  last 
are  the  first  three  transgressions  mentioned.  It  is  enough  to 
refer  to  the  last,  which  is  their  abridgment  and  consummation. 

The  crowning  crime  of  Damascus  has  been  that  "they  threshed 
Gilead  with  the  iron  sledges."  The  exact  event  alluded 
to  is  uncertain,  but  Syria  was  constantly  engaged  in  petty 
wars  with  Israel,  and  specially  harassed  its  eastward  division 
beyond  the  Jordan,  where  the  cities  were  less  defended,  and  to 
which  it  was  not  easy  to  move  troops  with  rapidity.'  Nothing  is 
more  probable  than  that  in  these  border  wars  the  Syrians,  perhaps 
provoked  in  a  particular  instance  by  some  obstinate  defence,  had 
subjected  the  inhabitants  of  conquered  villages  to  the  same  kind 
of  horrible  barbarity  which  even  David  inflicted  on  the  people 
of  Moab,  when  he  placed  them  under  saws  and  axes  and 
harrows  of  iron.^  The  fact  that  David  acted  thus,  the  fact  that 
the  sacred  historian  records  the  cruelty  without  condemnation, 
has  made  Christian  commentators  in  all  ages  imagine  that  they 
were  bound  to  defend  them.  We  may  hope  that  the  day  is 
now  past  in  which  men  can  maintain  the  casuistry  into  which 
they  have  been  led  by  the  necessity  of  maintaining  a  false 
theory  about  inspiration  at  the  expense  alike  of  the  character 
of  God,  and  the  eternal  laws  of  morality.  When  David  treated 
in  this  way  his  conquered  enemies  he  was  guilty  of  horrible 
barbarity,  and  is  as  little  to  be  excused  in  the  abstract  as 
Djezzar  "  the  butcher "'  is  to  be  excused  for  burying  his 
enemies  up  to  the  neck  in  the  ground  and  then  driving  a 
ploughshare  through  their  heads.     Nothing  but  the  bluntness 

'  2  Kings  viii.  12  ;  x.  32,  33  ;  xiii.  22. 
'  2  Kings  xiii.  7.     Comp.  Prov.  xx.  26. 


52  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

of  moral  sense  which  may  arise  from  the  ignorance  of  an  age 
or  the  inveteracy  of  a  custom  can  enable  any  man  to  commit 
such  crimes  without  a  loss  of  self-respect.  All  that  can  be  said 
of  such  deeds  is  that  they  may  be  regarded  rather  as  the  vitia 
tcDiporis  than  the  vitia  hoininis.  In  the  case  of  Amos  the 
development  of.  moral  indignation  may  have  been  quickened 
by  the  fact  that  such  horrors  as  the  crushing  men  to  death 
under  sledges  of  iron  were  inflicted  on  Israelites  themselves, 
and  not  by  them  upon  their  enemies.  The  sentiment  of 
righteousness  has  often  been  awaked  by  making  a  man  feel 
in  his  own  person  its  cruel  violation.  At  any  rate,  Amos  not 
only  condemns  the  crime,  but  regards  it  as  a  culminating 
atrocity,  calling  for  and  bringing  down  the  wrath  of  heaven. 
In  thus  doing  he  expressed  the  true  sense  of  the  prophets,  to 
whom  as  a  rule  cruelty  is  abhorrent,  by  whomsoever  practised, 
and  under  whatsoever  real  and  imagined  sanctions. 

Note  further  the  tremendous  aposiopesis  in  the  phrase,  "  For 
the  three  transgressions  of  Damascus,  and  for  the  four,  I  will 
not  turn  IT  away."  What  lies  hid  in  the  awful  vagueness  of 
the  "  it"  ?  The  A.  V.  renders  the  clause,  "  I  will  not  turn  away 
the  punishment  thereof^  But  the  Hebrew  literally  means,  "  I 
take  not  that  back^'  (comp.  Isa.  xliii.  13).  The  margin  of  the 
R.  V.  suggests  the  meaning,  "  I  revoke  not  my  word  "  ;  but  it 
is  more  in  accordance  with  the  powerful  rhetoric  of  the 
prophet  to  suppose  the  "//;«/"  to  refer  to  a  retribution  which 
looms  all  the  more  terribly  through  the  imagination  which 
will  not  frame  it  in  words.  One  element  of  the  punishment 
is  immediately  mentioned,  but  only  in  general  terms. 

For  because  Damascus  has  thus  rioted  m  blood  the  Lord 
says,  "  I  will  send  a  fire  into  the  palaces  of  Hazael,  which 
shall  devour  Benhadad's  palaces.'  And  I  will  break  the  bar 
of  Damascus,^  and  cut  off  him  that  sitteth  (on  the  throne)  in 
the  valley  of  Aven,^  and  him  that  holdeth  the  sceptre  from  the 
house  of  Eden,  and  Aram's  nation  shall  go  into  captivity  unto 
Kir,  SAiTH  THE  Lord."* 

«  Renhadad  HI.,  son  of  the  usurper,  Hazael  (2  Kings  xiii.  24). 

="  Comp.  1  Kings  iv.  13;   Psa.  cvii.  16. 

3  Bikalh-\\tt\\ox  "the  cleft  of  Aven."  Coele-Syria  or  Hollow  Syria, 
between  Libanus  and  Antilibamis  is  still  called  El-bukaa  by  the  Arabs. 
Joshua  (xi.  17  ;  xii.  7)  speaks  of  the  valley  {Bikah)ol  Lebanon. 

♦  Comp.   2  Kings  xvi.  9  ;  Jer.   xlix.  27   (written   when  the  doom   had 


THE  PROPHECY  OF  AMOS.  53 

In  each  instance  the  fire  is  invoked  to  smite  the  guilty  people 
— namely,  the  conflagration  and  massacre  of  Assyrian  eonquest. 
The  house  of  Hazael  which  had  usurped  the  palaces  of  Benha- 
dad  should  perish  ;  the  massive  bar  of  the  city  gates  should  be 
broken.  The  rulers  in  the  Sun  Valley — the  Valley  of  Baalbek — 
and  in  the  fair  district  known  as  "  Paradise,"  should  be  destroyed, 
and  the  cruel  Syrians  should  be  deported  to  Armenia,  to  the 
banks  of  the  river  Kir.'  The  "  saith  the  Lord,"  is  another 
emphatic  refrain  of  the  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  "  at  the  beginning 
of  the  clause. 

2.  From  the  north  he  passes  (i.  6-8)  to  the  Philistines  on  the 
south-west.  They,  too,  were  enemies  and  aliens.  On  them 
Jehovah  charges  the  crowning  iniquity  that  they  "led  away 
whole  villages  to  give  them  to  Edom."  In  some  of  the  inces- 
sant border  raids,  the  Philistines,  no  longer  capable  of  open 
war,  had  fallen  on  the  defenceless  villages,  and  not  content  with 
taking  away  their  entire  inhabitants,  had  sold  them  into  cruel 
slavery  to  their  bitter  and  hereditary  foes,  the  Edomites.'  The 
crime  would  not  be  unpunished.  Gaza  should  be  burnt,^  Ash- 
dod  dispeopled,  the  ruler  of  Ascalon  slain,  and  Ekron  visited. 
Gath  and  the  remnant  of  Philistia  should  perish — saith  the 
Lord. 

3.  Then  he  turns  against  Tyre.  The  old  brotherly  covenant 
between  David  and  Solomon  and  Hiram,  should  have  prevented 
the  Phoenicians  from  treacherous  attacks  on  the  friendly  king- 
dom.* But  they  had  been  guilty  of  the  same  crime  as  the 
Philistines,  and  had  handed  over  "an  entire  city"  to  Edom, 
*'  Therefore  should  fire  devour  the  walls  and  palaces  of  Tyre." 

4.  And  now  the  judgment  comes  nearer,  for  it  falls  on  the 
brother-nation  of  Edom.  Corrupting  his  compassions,  giving 
vent  to  the  rending  violence  of  his  anger,  cherishing  an  ancient 
wrath,  Edom  had  not  refrained  from  hostilities  against  Israel. 

already  been  fulfilled).  By  "Aven  "  ("vanity")  On  is  perhaps  intended 
(Heliopolis  or  E?aalbek),  see  Ezek.  xxx.  17.  Nothing  is  known  of  Beth- 
Eden.  It  maybe  Beit-el-jame  (''  House  of  Paradise"),  about  eight  hours 
from  Damascus  (Porter's  "Five  Years  in  Syria,"  i.  313). 

'  The  land  from  which  they  sprang  (Am.  ix.  7). 

'  Ji:el  iii.  1-8.  Perhap-,  the  present  allusion  is  to  the  Philistine  invasion 
in  the  reign  of  Jehoram  (2  Chron.  xxi.  16,  17). 

3  See  Jer.  xlvii.  i :   "  before  that  Pharaoh  smote  Gaza." 

*  I  Kings  V.  I ;  ix.  11-14.  Evvald  thinks  that  the  covenant  meant  is  the 
one  which  should  have  existed  between  Esau  and  Jacob. 


54  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

Therefore,   fire   should   devour   Teman    and    the   palaces   of 
Rosrah." 

5.  And  still  deadlier  had  been  the  atrocity  of  Ammon.  Merely 
out  of  lust  of  gain,  to  increase  their  territory,  the  Amnvonites  had 
fallen  on  the  villages  of  Gilead,  and  had  ripped  up  remorselessly 
the  women  with  child.*  Heavier,  therefore,  is  the  judgment 
which  should  fall  on  them.3  Rabbah  should  perish  with  fire, 
and  shouting,  and  tempest,  and  its  king  and  his  princes  should 
all  go  into  captivity.* 

6.  And  with  similar  exultation  and  execration,  and  trumpet- 
blasts,  and  murder  of  its  Sheykh,^  and  of  its  princes,  Moab 
also,  and  the  palaces  of  Qerioth  should  perish.*  The  final  sin 
of  Moab  had  been  the  madness  of  posthumous  hate,  which  had 
caused  them  to  burn  to  lime  the  bones  of  the  king  of  Moab, 
whose  body  had  fallen  into  their  possession.' 

7.  Nearer  and  nearer  to  Israel  had  the  judgment  been 
approaching.  Still,  as  yet  it  had  only  fallen  on  nations  who, 
even  when  they  were  near  of  kin,  had  shown  themselves  ruthless 
and  hostile.  Now,  however,  a  spasm  of  serious  alarm  must 
have  touched  the  leaders  and  hearers  of  the  prophet  in  Samaria, 
when  the  seventh  woe  was  pronounced  on  Judah.  They  must 
have  felt  that  Judah,  whatever  her  faults,  was  much  less  guilty 
than  themselves.  And  yet  fire  is  menaced  to  Judah  and  the 
palaces  of  Jerusalem  ®  because,  self-deceived,  as  their  fathers 

'  Amos  ix.  12  ;  Joel  iii.  19. 

'  Comp.  Jer.  xlix.  1-3  ;  and  for  these  atrocities  i  Sam.  xi.  2  ;  3  Kings 
XV.  16,  &c. 
3  2  Kings  viii.  12  ;  Hos.  xiv.  i. 

*  Even  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  Jeremiah  (xlix.  3,  comp.  LXX.)  there 
seems  to  have  been  anotiier reading,  "  Milcom  and  his  Pries's"  for  "his king 
and  his  princes  ; "  as  though  the  allusion  were  to  a  seizure  of  the  idol 
Moloch.     Comp.  Jer.  xlviii.  7. 

5  The  hing  of  Moab  seems  to  have  been  deposed  by  Jeroboam  II.,  who 
only  left  the  Moabites  under  a  vassal-Sheykh,  Shophet,  Suffes,  or  "  Judge" 
(vi.  14). 

*  Qerioth  is  possibly  another  name  for  tlie  capital  of  Moab— Ar— or 
Kir — Moab  (Isa.  xv.  i.     Comp.  Jer.  xlviii.  24). 

'  Com]).  2  Kings  iii.  9.  The  Jews  thought  that  the  body  of  the  king  of 
Edom,  who  had  been  an  ally  of  Jehoran  and  Jehoshaphat,  had  come  into 
the  hands  of  the  king  of  Moab,  who  thus  basely  wreaked  his  vengeance 
upon  the  dead.  Delitzsih  remarks  that  inhuman  cruelty  is  ever  the  trait 
of  the  Ammonites,  boastful  arrogance  of  the  Moabites,  and  crafty  wiliness 
if  the  Edoniites.  "  2  Kings  xxv.  9  ;  Jer.  xvii.  27. 


THE  PROPHECY  OF  AMOS.  55 

were,  the  Jews  had  despised  the  laws  and  teaching  of  the 
Lord. 

8.  Seven  times  had  the  thunder  rolled,  seven  times  the  flame 
fallen.  Hitherto,  Israel  may  have  gazed  with  something  of 
delight — at  the  utmost  with  indifference — on  the  threatened 
overthrow,  by  conquest  and  devastation,  of  the  surrounding 
peoples,  with  every  one  of  whom  they  were  at  enmity,  and  all  of 
whom  were  idolatrous  except  Judah.  And  Judah  was  at  any 
rate  a  rival  ;  but  now  the  storm  bursts  with  accumulated  force 
on  Israel  herself. 

All  her  four  crimes  are  detailed,  (i)  The  Israelites,  too, 
trade  in  men — selling  the  innocent  poor  for  money,  and  the 
helpless  for  a  pair  of  shoes — selling  them  so  cheap  that  the 
price  only  sufficed  for  ornamental  sandals."  (2)  They  "pant 
after  the  dust  of  the  earth  on  the  head  of  the  poor  " — meaning 
either  by  a  forcible  exaggeration  that  their  greed  of  land  went 
so  far  that  they  grudged  the  very  dust  which  the  suppliants  cast 
upon  their  heads,  or  that  they  look  a  savage  delight  in  watching 
their  misery  when  they  stood  as  sentenced  criminals  with  ashes 
sprinkled  on  their  hair.^  (3)  In  their  idolatrous  feasts  they 
were  guilty — even  father  and  son  together — of  vile  licentious- 
ness. (4)  Near  every  altar  they  lay  down  on  clothes  taken  in 
pledge,  which  thus  pitilessly  left  the  poor  debtors  unprotected 
against  the  dews  and  chills  of  night  ;  ^  and,  in  the  house  of  their 
false  gods,  they  drank  the  wine  purchased  from  unjust  fines. 

And  all  this  in  gross  forgetfulness  of  how  God's  mercy  had 
destroyed  before  them,  root  and  branch,  the  giant  Amorites, 
tall  as  the  cedars,  strong  as  the  oaks,  and  given  their  land  to 
them — a  nation  of  rescued  serfs  !  And  God  had  made  their 
youths  consecrated  Nazatites,  and  their  sons  prophets,  while 
they  had  offered  wine  to  tempt  the  Nazarites  to  break  their  vow, 
and  had  forbidden  the  prophets  to  speak  the  message  of  God.^ 
"  Behold  ! " — such  is  the  fearful  metaphor  which  the  prophet 
does  not  hesitate  to  put  into  the  mouth  of  God — "  Behold,  I  am 
pressed  under  you  as  a  cart  is  pressed  that  is  full  of  sheaves  ."s 

'  A  proverbial  expression  (viii.  6).  »  Neh.  ix.  i  ;  Lam.  ii.  10. 

3  Exod.  xxii.  26  ;  Ueut.  xxiv.  12,  13. 

*  Comp.  I  Kings  xix.  2,  3,  xxii.  26,  27  ;  2  Chron.  xvi.  9  ;  Isa.  xxx.  10,  &c. 

5  Such  seems  to  be  the  correct  translation  of  the  margin  in  the 
R.V.  The  text,  with  Ewald  and  others,  renders  it,  "  I  will  press  you 
as  a  cart,"  &c.,  but  it  seems  doubtful  whether  the  Hebrew  will  bear  this 


$6  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

Therefore  the  swift,  the  strong,  the  mighty,  the  archer,  the 
runner,  the  bold-hearted,  should  all  be  overwhelmed  in  a 
common  catastrophe  of  vain  flight,  and  even  the  heroes  who 
most  scorned  fear,  should,  in  that  day,  flee  away  naked — saith 
the  Lord. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  word  used  for  "  saith  "  (D.^^P) 
here,  and  in  twenty  other  places,  by  Amos,  has  far  more  signi- 
ficance than  the  PInglish  suggests.  Here  it  forms  the  solemn 
close  of  this  part  of  the  prophecy.  It  occurs  only  four  times  in 
Hosea,  and  once  in  Joel.  It  is  most  common  in  Jeremiah  and 
Ezekiel. 

So  end  the  first  two  chapters  of  Amos  ;  and  no  more  powerful 
burden  was  ever  written.  If  Amos  be  the  earliest  prophet 
whose  writings  we  possess,  the  startling  grandeur  of  this  opening 
utterance  might  indeed  be  well  compared  to  the  roar  of  a  lion 
from  Jerusalem. 

And  if  in  these  words,  which  throb  with  the  light  and  flame 
of  righteousness  and  moral  indignation,  we  may  select  one 
feature  which,  more  than  another,  is  characteristic  of  Hebrew 
prophecy,  we  should  fix  on  the  strong  reprobation  of  Edom 
for  a  crime  against  abstract  mercy  and  morality,  and  one  which 
in  no  way  affected  Israel.  Of  the  details  ol  the  incident  itself 
— what  it  was  which  induced  Edom  to  burn  the  bones  of  the 
king  of  Moab  into  lime — we  know  nothing.  They  may  have 
thought  to  inflict  the  terrible  form  of  revenge,  which,  according 
to  ancient  superstition,  robbed  the  dead,  whose  mortal  remains 
had  been  destroyed  and  scattered,  of  all  chance  of  a  life  beyond 
the  grave.  But  however  that  may  be,  they  had  ignobly  warred 
against  the  dead,  and  failed  in  the  respect  due  to  the  sad  relics 
of  mortality,  and  therefore  the  prophet  denounces  against  them 
the  stern  message  of  doom.  It  is  a  noble  feature  in  the 
messages  of  this  prophet,  that  the  crime  for  which  he  denounces 
the  nations  is  in  each  instance  an  act  of  gross  cruelty.  It 
matters  nothing  that  in  the  case  of  Ammon  the  cruelty  has  been 
committed  against  an  enemy  of  Israel.  Atrocities  are  atrocities 
by  whomsoever  committed.  The  spirit  of  ruthless  harshness, 
of  a  wrath  ihat  "casts  off  pity,"  of  an  anger  that  "  tears  per- 
petually," is  a  demon-spirit  in  whomsoever  found,  and  deserves, 

moaning.  See  Professor  Gandell's  note  in  the  "  Speaker's  Commentary." 
Tlie  amazing  lioldnoss  of  the  metaphor  is  quite  in  accordance  with  the 
bi)li;  ol  Amos. 


THE  PROPHECY  OF   AMOS.  57 

and  will  receive,  the  punishment  of  heaven.     The  shepherd  of 
Tekoah  had  learnt  this  among  his  sheepfolds. 

"  Love  had  he  found  in  huts  where  poor  men  lie  ; 

His  daily  teachers  had  been  woods  and  rills, 
The  silence  that  is  in  the  starry  sky, 

The  sheep  that  is  among  the  lovely  hills. 
In  him  the  savage  virtues  of  his  race, 

Revenge,  and  all  ferocious  thoughts,  were  dead  ; 
Nor  did  he  change,  but  kept  in  lofty  place 

The  wisdom  which  adversity  had  bred." 

II.  The  Condemnation. 

The  second  oration  of  Amos  (iii.  iv.)  is  not  inferior  to  the  first 
in  grandeur  and  sustained  intensity.  Having  reached,  step  by 
step,  to  Israel,  the  prophet  continues  to  deal  with  the  crimes  of 
the  Northern  Kingdom.     He  does  so  in  five  strophes.  , 

First  (iii.  i-8)  he  shows  that  the  menace  of  doom  as  uttered 
by  a  prophet's  voice  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  accidental.  As  other 
effects  follow  inevitably  from  definite  causes,  so  the  utterance  of 
the  prophet  ought  to  be  a  sign  of  peril  since  it  is  a  reverberation 
of  the  voice  of  God, 

2.  Next,  he  upbraids  them  in  succession  for  three  forms  of 
crime  (iii.  8 — iv.  ii),  and  first  (iii.  8-15),  injustice  in  the  civil 
government,  involving  the  certainty  of  ruinous  disaster. 

3.  He  denounces  doom  on  the  luxury  and  idolatry  of  the 
women  (iv.  1-3). 

4.  He  vehemently  reproves  them  for  the  impenitence  shown 
by  repeated  rejection  of  warnings. 

5.  He  summons  them  before  the  awful  bar  of  judgment  to 
meet  their  unknown  doom. 

In  closer  analysis  the  strophes  are  as  follows  : — 

I.  Significance  of  his  Mission  (iii.  i-8). 

Amos  tells  them  that  his  words  are  addressed  to  all 
the  sons  of  Israel,  and  therefore,  of  course,  especially  the 
Ten  Tribes  who  formed  so  much  the  larger  part  of  the 
kingdom.  They  were  a  chosen  nation,  therefore  they 
should  be  punished.  They  stood  most  fully  in  the  light,  and 
therefore  they  cast  a  darker  shadow.  In  his  appearance  at 
Samaria  they  ought  to  see  the  most  certain  omen  of  danger. 
Two  walk  together  :  must  there  not  be  some  agreement  to 
make  them  do  so  ?    A  lion  roars :  is  it  not  a  proof  that  his  prey 


58  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

is  near  ?  A  young  lion  growls  in  his  den  :  must  it  not  be  that 
he  has  seized  his  food  ?  Can  a  bird  be  captured  if  there  is  no 
net  ?  Is  a  springe  displaced  without  the  bird  being  caught  ? 
Can  a  war-trumpet  be  blown  in  a  city  without  the  people  taking 
alarm?  Can  there  be  a  calamity  in  a  city  apart  from  God's 
Providence  ?  So  then  the  Prophet  does  not  appear  without  a 
cause.  His  words  cannot  be  accidental.  He  only  speaks 
because  his  eyes  have  been  enlightened  to  see  what  God 
intends.  "  The  lion  roareth — who  will  not  fear  .''  The  Lord 
Jehovah  hath  spoken  :  who  can  but  prophesy.''  " 

2.  The  Arraignment. 

a.  For  civil  Oppression  (iii.  8-15).  This  then  is  the  message 
which  shows  that  sin  has  become  a  source  of  deadly  peril. 

The  enemies  of  Israel — the  Philistines  of  Ashdod,  the 
people  of  Egypt — are  summoned  to  take  their  stand  on  the 
mountains  of  Samaria  which  encircle  the  city  like  a  crown  of 
pride,  and  thence  to  louk  down  in  scorn  and  exultation  on  the 
capital  of  their  foe.'  It  is  full  of  tumults  ;  it  is  full  of  oppression  ; 
the  rules  of  righteousness  seem  to  have  been  forgotten. 
The  magnificent  palaces  were  store-houses  on  which  might 
be  written  only  cruelty  and  injustice.  Therefore,  the  eye 
of  the  seer  saw  a  very  different  spectacle  from  that  seen  by 
others  in  the  aspect  of  the  gorgeous  and  self-indulgent  city. 
It  saw  distress,  the  land  encompassed  by  armies,  shattered 
forts,  plundered  palaces.  Now  the  sons  of  Israel  sit  luxurious 
on  couches  covered  with  damasked  cushions.''  They  would  soon 
be  barely  able  to  save  themselves  in  a  maimed  and  ruined  condi- 
tion, like  the  shinbone  or  fragment  of  an  ear  which  alone  a 
shepherd  can  rescue  from  a  lion.  Of  what  avail  would  the  calf- 
altars  of  Bethel  be,  when  shaken  by  an  earthquake  they 
would  tumble  to  ruin,  and  their  horns  be  broken  off.^  In  that 
same  earthquake  the  houses  of  joy  in  the  joyous  city  should 
collapse,  the  summer  and  the  winter  apartments,  and  the  houses 
of  ivory  should  have  an  end— saith  the  Lord. 

/8.  The  luxury  and  the  punishment  of  the  women  (iv.  1-3). 
When  the  women  of  a  society  are  wholly  absorbed  in  callous 

•  Comp.  Jer.  iv.  16. 

*  iii.  13,  A.V.  marg.,  "on  tlic  bed's  feet."  R.V.,  "on  the  silken 
cushion  of  a  bed.'  Tlie  wonis  seen\  literally  to  mean  "on  a  coiicli's 
damask."  Damascus  was  i-arly  known  for  silken  and  woollen  fabrics 
(Ezek.  xxvii.  11).  3  Comp.  ix.  1-6. 


THE  PROPHECY   OF  AMOS.  59 

worldliness  and  luxurious  surfeit  it  is  the  stront^est  proof  that 
the  society  is  doomed.  For  woman  is  naturally  more  moral 
and  more  religious  than  man,  and  when  her  natural  instincts 
of  modesty  and  reverence  have  been  absorbed  the  best  hopes  of 
a  moral  revival  are  extinguished.  It  was  so  with  the  women  of 
Samaria.  Amos  spares  them  as  little  as  do  the  other  prophets  ; 
he  contemptuously  addresses  them  as  fat  cows  of  Bashan  upon 
the  mountain  of  Samaria,  and  tells  how  they  afilict  the  suffering 
and  crush  the  helpless  to  supply  themselves  with  means  to  sate 
their  drunkenness.  Their  cry  to  their  lords  is  "  Bring  to  us 
drink."  Ah  !  from  those  ivory  palaces  they  should  be  dragged 
forth  by  the  brutal  conqueror,  dragged  forth  by  the  hair,  as  the 
fisherman  drags  his  prey  out  of  the  water  with  hooks.'  They 
would,  indeed,  rush  to  escape,  rush  with  all  the  selfishness  of 
hard  egotism,  each  for  herself,  to  escape  out  of  the  breaches  of 
the  ruined  walls,  and  each  as  she  flies  shall  fling  away  her 
Rimmona  to  the  mountain — her  idol  of  the  Syrian  love-goddess, 
of  which  the  emblem  was  a  pomegranate.^ 

y.  The  aggravation  of  impeiiitence  (iv.  4-1 1).  The  third 
damning  charge  brought  by  the  prophet  against  the  Ten  Tribes 
is  that  of  impenitence  in  despite  of  incessant  warnings.  He 
tauntingly  begins  by  bidding  them  to  continue  the  formal 
ritualisms  on  which  they  relied. ^  This  very  worship  was  a  crime, 
for  it  was  half  idolatrous  :  there  was  iniquity  even  in  their  holy 
things.  So  when  they  went  on  their  religious  pilgrimages  to 
Bethel  and  to  Gilgal  it  was  only  to  add  sin  to  sin.  Vain  were 
their  daily  morning  sacrifices,  vain  their  scrupulosity  in  tithes, 

»  Jer.  xvi.  16  ;  Ezek.  xxix.  4. 

"  Comp.  Isa.  ii.  20.  In  this  difficult,  and  probably  corrupt,  verse  I  follow 
Ewald,  who  thinks  that  here  something  must  have  been  lost.  The  R.V. 
renders  it :  "  Ye  shall  cast  yourselves  into  Harmon."  If  Ewald  be  right, 
Rimmona  is  the  feminine  of  the  god  Rimmon  (2  Kings  v.  18).  The  LXX. 
render  it  "  to  be  flung  to  Mount  Rimmon."  The  Targum,  Peshito,  and 
Vulg.  render  "on  to  the  mountains  of  Armenia."  Hitzig,  altering  the 
reading,  translates  it,  "  Ye  shall  be  cast  away  to  Hadad-Rimmon,"  and 
Steiner  identifies  Hadad-Rimmon  with  the  Syrian  Adonis  and  his  immoral 
worship. 

3  In  iv.  4,  the  "after  three  years"  of  the  A.V.  (marg.  \hx&^  years  of 
days),  should  be  "  every  three  days  "  as  in  R.V.  It  may  be  an  ironical 
allusion  to  the  custom  of  bringing  tithes  every  third  year  (Deut.  xxvi.  12). 
These  Pharisees  of  the  calf-worship  were  scrupulous  about  their  tithes  of 
mint,  anise,  and  cummin. 


6o  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

vain  the  leavened  thank-offerings  which  they  burned,'  and  the 
vaunted  free-will-offerings  :  in  all  which  things  they  pleased 
themselves.  Why  had  they  not  rather  attended  to  God's  re- 
peated admonitions?  (iv.  4,  5.) 

i.  He  had  sent  them  a  general  famine — yet  they  repented 
not  (iv.  6). 

ii.  He  had  withheld  the  rain  ;  had  made  the  rainfall  partial 
and  local,  so  that  two  or  three  cities  wandered  to  another  to  get 
water,  and  did  not  get  enough  :  yet  they  repented  not  (iv.  7,  8). 

iii.  He  had  smitten  them  with  drought,  and  yellow  blight,  and 
locusts  :  yet  they  repented  not  (iv.  9). 

iv.  He  had  smitten  them  with  the  plague  of  Egypt,  had  slain 
their  youths  in  battle,  and  the  horses,  which  were  but  a  vain 
thing  to  save  them,^  had  filled  the  air  with  the  stench  of  un- 
buried  corpses  :  yet  they  repented  not  (iv.  10). 

v.  He  had  sent  earthquake  and  burning  among  them,  like 
that  which  destroyed  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  :  yet  they  repented 
not  (iv.  ii).3 

III.   The  Final  Doom  (iv.  12,  13). 

Since,  then,  these  judgments  had  all  failed  of  their  object, 
nothing  remained  but  the  passing  of  the  sentence.  Something 
worse  and  deadlier  than  these  calamities  awaited  them.  He 
does  not  say  what  it  is.     He  leaves  it  in  dreadful  vagueness. 

"  Therefore  thus  will  I  do  unto  thee,  O  Israel  :  and  because 
I  will  do  this  unto  thee,  prepare  to  meet  thy  God,  O  Israel !  " 

Who  is  that  God?  They  cannot  doubt.  It  is  He  who  built 
the  mountains,  and  createth  the  viewless  wind,  and  declareth 
men's  thoughts,  and  maketh  sunrise,  and  treadeth  upon  the 
high-places  of  the  earth.  "  The  Lord,  the  God  of  hosts  is  His 
name." 

So  ends  the  second  overwhelming  burden.  The  title  ''  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  " — jehovah-Tsebaolh — the  leader  of  all  the  hosts 
of  God.  Whether  the  primary  allusion  was  to  the  armies  of  the 
nation  (Psa.  xliv.  9)  or  to  the  stars  of  heaven  is  uncertain,  but 
this  is  one  of  the  earliest  occurrences  of  the  name  which  is  not 

*  Leaven  was  forbidden  in  burnt-offerings  (Lev.  vii.  13;  xxiii.  17). 
"  See  Psa.  xx. 

3  Gen.  xix.  29.  The  words  "  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  burning,"  are 
repealed  in  Zech.  iii.  2. 


THE  PROPHECY  OF  AMOS.  6l 

found  in  the  Hexateuch,  though  it  is  so  common  in  the  Psalms, 
the  Prophets,'  and  in  the  Historical  Books. 

The  LAMENTATION  MINGLED  WITH  REPROACHES  AND 
APPEALS   (v.  vi.). 

'I.  The  Dirge  (v.  1-9).  First  he  sings  his  wail  over  Israel, 
tne  virgin  desolate  and  prostrate.  Her  cities  should  be 
decimated.  The  city  which  had  a  thousand  soldiers  should 
have  but  a  hundred  ;  the  village  that  had  but  a  hundred  shall  be 
left  with  only  ten  (v.  1-3). 

Yet  this  need  not  be.  Two  words — "  Seek-ye-me  and-live" — 
present  the  absolute  alternative.  But  to  seek  God  they  must 
not  seek  Bethel,  Gilgal,  or  Beersheba.  For  Gilgal  should  be  to 
them  but  as  gall, and  Bethel,"  House  of  God,"  become  Beth-Aven, 
*'  House  of  Vanity.''  If  they  would  not  seek  God  He  should  be  as 
an  unquenchable  fire  to  the  House  of  Joseph,  for  who  could 
resist  Him  who  made  the  Seven  Stars  and  the  FaUing  Giant,^ 
and  darkened  noonday  and  brightened  midnight,  and  poured 
the  sea  over  the  dry  land,  who  flasheth  destruction  upon  strong 
men  and  strong  fortresses  (v.  4-9). 

2.  Renewed  accusations  (v.  10-17).  Were  they  not  unjust? 
Did  they  not  hate  just  reproofs,  and  defraud  and  trample  on  the 
poor  ?  They  shall  not  dwell  in  their  stone  houses,  or  drink  the 
wine  of  their  pleasant  vineyards,  for  they  oppressed  and  starved 
the  helpless,  and  scarcely  any  wise  man  durst  face  the  peril 
of  reproving  them.  Repentance  alone  could  save  the  remnant 
of  them  !  But  of  repentance  there  is  no  sign,  and  therefore  in 
all  markets  and  all  streets  should  be  wailing,  and  not  only 
the  hired  mourners,  but  even  husbandmen  should  be  called 
from  their  plough  to  wail,  and  vinedressers  from  their  vineyards, 
when  God  passed  through  their  midst — saith  the  Lord  ! 

3:  Reproof  of  hypocrisy  and  formalism  (v.  18-27).  Some 
pretended  to  deplore  the  existing  state  of  the  nation,  and  to  long 
for  the  day  of  the  Lord.  Yet,  for  all  but  the  faithful  and  sincere, 
that  day  should  be  darkness  and  not  light,  a  judgment  not 
a  deliverance,  as  if  a  man  fled  from  a  lion  and  a  bear  met  him, 
or  went  into  his  house  and  leaned  on  a  wall  and  a  serpent  bit  him. 
Did  they  rely  on  their  external  service — feasts  and  holidays,  and 

'  But  not  in  Ezekiel. 

»  Pleiades  (in  the  Heb.  "cluster")  and  Orion  (Kesil,  "the  impious 
one").  These  constellations  are  joined  by  Job  (ix.  9)  and  also  by  Homer 
("IL"xviii.  486). 


62  THE  MINOR  PROPHETS. 

burnt- offerings,  and  hymns,  and  church  music  ?  Vain  reliance'. 
God  hated  and  despised  such  cheap  things  as  these.  What  He 
required  was  the  full  wave  of  justice,  and  the  everflowing 
stream  of  righteousness.  Had  the  people  sacrificed  to  God  in 
the  wilderness  ? '  Not  at  any  rate  in  such  large  measure  as 
they  were  doing  now.  But  now  the  sacrifices  of  many  of  them 
were  mixed  up  with  pure  idolatry,  and  they  and  their  idols 
should  be  carried  away  captive.  Yes  !  carrying  with  them  the 
shrines  and  symbols  of  their  images,  they  should  be  taken  into 
captivity  beyond  Damascus'' — saith  the  Lord,  whose  name  is  the 
God  of  hosts. ^ 

4,  Fresh  expostulations  and  menaces  (vL  i-io).  They  were  at 
ease— the  nobles  of  Zion  and  Samaria,  God  had  blessed  them  ; 
they  were  the  first  among  the  neighbouring  nations — for  were 
Calno  or  Hamath  or  Gath  greater  than  they.?*  Yet,  ungrateful 
for  their  blessings,  they  bid  the  evil  day  avaunt,  and  give  them- 
selves up  to  violence,  lolling  on  ivory  beds,  at  delicate  banquets, 
amid  aesthetic  music  and  wassail  bowls,  and  perfumes,  supremely 
careless  of  the  deep  wounds  of  their  country.  Therefore  they 
first  should  go  into  captivity,  shrieking  on  their  way  !  For 
God  has  sworn  His  hatred  of  their  pride,  and  palaces,  and 
ciowdcd  cities.  The  curse  of  pestilence  should  be  added  to 
the  curse  of  war  (vi.  1-8).  Then  follows  a  picture  of  terrific 
energy.  A  house  has  been  smitten  with  plague,  so  that  only  ten 
people  remain  in  it ;  but  the  plague  still  riots  amid  this 
residue,  s  Their  own  uncle  or  kinsman  comes  to  take  the 
corpses  out  of  the  houses  in  the  dread  exigency  of  the  time, 

'  To  the  question  of  ver.  25,  ' '  Did  ye  bring  unto  Me  sacrifices  .  .  .  ? " 
the  answer  "  No  "  is  implied.  '  A  vague  expression  for  Assyria. 

3  The  right  reading  and  rendering  of  ver.  26  seems  to  be,  "so  shall  ye 
take  up  (on  the  road  of  exile)  Sakkuth  (perhaps  an  Assyrian  name  for 
Moloch)  your  King,  and  Kewan,  your  god-star,  your  images  (i.e.,  the  image 
ot  the  planet  Saturn)."  See  Driver,  "  Hebr.  Tenses,"  {  119a.  and  Evvald. 
The  LXX.  render  Sikkuth  by  "  tabernacle,"  and  substitute  Raiphan  for 
Kewan,  perhaps  from  a  clerical  error  in  the  Hebrew  manuscript.  Remphan 
(.•\cts  viii.  43)  is  a  further  corruption. 

*  Calno  was  near  the  site  of  Ktesiphon.  Hamath  (known  later  as 
Epiphaneia)  on  the  Orontes  was  humiliated  by  Shalmaneser  II.  in  850  b.C  , 
and  overthrown  by  Sargon  in  720  B.C.  (iath  had  been  crushed  by  Uzziah. 
The  "  thtse  kingdoms  "  of  vi.  2,  means  Israel  and  Judah. 

S  Such  scenes  may  have  occurred  in  the  lliree  years'  siege  of  Samaria 
by  the  Assyrians  (2  Kings  xvii.  5). 


THE  PROPHECY   OF  AMOS.  63 

not  to  bury  but  to  bum  them.'  One  miserable  sufferer  alone 
remains  in  some  far  corner  of  the  house,  and  the  kinsman  asks 
"if  there  is  any  other  survivor.'"'  "No  !  "  is  the  despairing 
reply :  and  terrified  lest  the  poor  sick  man  should  add  any  single 
word  either  of  sorrow  or  superstition,  or  despair,  the  new-comer 
cries  out  "Hush!  for  Jehovah's  name  is  not  to  be  mentioned 
here."  ^  Such  is  the  stupefaction  of  despair  that  even  the  voice 
of  anguish  has  to  be  hushed,  lest  so  much  as  the  merest 
mention  of  the  Ineffable's  name  should  incense  Jehovah  more  ! 
And  thus  the  curtain  rushes  down  like  a  storm  on  desolation 
and  silence  !  (9-10). 

5.  Tlie  Doom  once  more  (vi.  11-14).  Earthquake!  the 
palace  in  ruins,  the  hovel  rent  1  (i  I.)  And  why  .?  Horses  cannot 
run  up  rocks  nor  oxen  plough  there,  yet  you  think  that  the 
very  nature  of  things  can  be  reversed  in  the  region  of  eternal 
verities !  you  turn  justice  to  gall,  and  the  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness to  wormwood  !  And  on  what  do  ye  rely  ?  on  a  thing 
of  nought  !  on  self-exaltation  self-secured  !  Here  then  comes 
the  sentence  with  fatal,  unwonted,  unmistakable  clearness  ! 
God  will  raise  up  against  you  a  nation  which  shall  weigh  you 
down  from  the  valley  of  Hamath  to  the  Wady  of  the  Arabah — 
from  the  northernmost  range  of  the  conquests  of  your  victorious 
king  downtothe  torrent-bed  which  is  the  southernmost  boundary 
of  your  kingdoms  towards  the  desert  of  Egypt  ^  (12-14). 

What  nation  could  that  be  ?  It  could  be  but  one  nation — 
the  awful,  dreaded,  remorseless  Assyria  sweeping  downwards 
through  the  gorge  between  Libanus  and  Antilibanus — Assyria 
that  had  already  made  itself  terrifically  felt  in  Syria,  in  Israel, 
even  in  Judah  ;  Assyria  the  most  ruthless,  and  the  most 
irresistible  of  enemies  ! 

Can  we  at  all  measure  what  the  awe  and  horror  of  such 
an  announcement  would  be  to  a  people  prosperous  and  wealthy, 
living  in  careless  luxury  under  the  long  reign  of  a  victorious 

'  The  dead  are  burned  out  of  necessity.  .See  1  Sam.  xxxi.  12.  The 
usual  custom  of  the  Hebrews  was  to  bury  the  dead,  but  during  a  siege  the 
cemetery  outside  the  city  would  be  inaccessible. 

^  To  mention  God's  name  implies  trust  and  praise  (Psa.  xx.  8,  Josh, 
xxiii.  7).  "The  Jewish  Commentators,"  says  Professor Gandell,  "  put  the  last 
words  in  the  mouth  of  the  sick  man,  as  if  saying,  Remove  the  dead,  for 
while  they  lived  they  prayed  not  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

3  The  nachal  ha-arabim.  also  called  "  the  brook  of  willows"  (Isa.  xv.  7) 
in  the  southern  border  of  Moab,  flowing  into  the  Dead  Sea. 


64  THE  MINOR   i'KOl'HETS. 

hero  ?  We  see  the  bas-reliefs  from  Assyrian  palaces  ;  we  see 
their  kings  hunting  the  lion,  or  flaying  their  captives,  or  looking 
on  at  their  tortures,  or  preceded  by  the  eagles  carrying  the 
entrails  of  the  slain.  We  see  the  jewelled  despot  in  his  palace 
at  his  banquet  with  his  queen,  while  opposite  to  him  dangles 
from  the  bough  of  a  tree  the  ghastly  head  of  some  defeated 
king.  But  what  to  us  a.r&  pictures  were  to  them  frightfully-near 
possibilities  ;  and  what  to  us  are  barbarous  names  sounded  in 
their  ears  like  the  knell  of  torment  and  of  death.  And  yet 
there  was  space  for  repentance  !  and  yet  they  knew  not  the 
day  of  their  visitation  ! 

IV.  Four  Visions  and  a  History  (vii.  i-viii.  3). 

The  prophets  knew  the  advantage  of  varied  methods,  and 
made  it  their  one  aim  to  use  such  styles  of  teaching  as  would 
most  effectually  move  and  reach  the  people.  After  the  three 
great  rhythmic  orations  which  we  have  been  considering  Amos 
conveys  fresh  lessons  by  symbolic  visions. 

First  vision  (vii.  1-3). — He  sees  the  vision  of  green  fields. 
The  early  growth  of  hay  which  seems  to  have  been  claimed 
for  the  use  of  the  kings  was  over,  and  the  after-growth  was 
beginning  to  shoot  up.  But  lo  !  God  had  formed  locusts, 
and  they  ate  up  the  grass.  Fearful  lest  famine  should  ensue 
if  they  devoured  the  crops  of  wheat,  the  prophet  pathetically 
pleads  for  his  country. 

"  O  Lord  God,  forgive,  I  beseech  Thee !  How  shall  Jacob 
stand  ?  for  he  is  small !  " 

The  Lord  heard  the  pitiful  cry  and  repented  of  His  purpose. 
"  It  shall  not  be,"  saith  the  Lord. 

Second  vision  (vii.4-6). — Behold  one  cried,  "The  Lord  Jehovah 
will  contend  by  fire."  And  fire  came  so  terrible  that  it  devoured 
not  the  land  only,  but  also  the  great  deep.'  Again  the 
prophet  pleads — 

"  O  Lord  God,  cease,  I  beseech  Thee  !  How  shall  Jacob 
stand .''  for  he  is  small  !  " 

Again  his  intercession  is  heard  ;  again  the  Lord  repents  of 
His  purpose. 

"This  also  shall  not  be,"  saith  the  Lord  God. 

Third  vision  (vii.  7-9). — The  third  vision  was   different  in 

'  The  meaning  of  the  verse  is  uncertain  and  difficult.  Some  by  "  deep ' 
{tehdvi)  understand  deep  springs  of  moisture. 


THE  PROPHECY  OF  AMOS.  65 

kind  and  more  fatal  in  its  issue.  The  prophet  sees  Jehovah 
Himself  standing  on  the  wall  of  a  well-built  city,  a  plumbline 
in  His  hand. 

"What  seest  thou,  Amos?" 

"  A  plumbline  !  " 

The  plumbline  is  being  used  to  measure  the  city  for  destruc- 
tion.' And  this  time  there  is  no  space  left  to  intercede.  The 
Lord  declares — 

"  The  high-places  of  Isaac  shall  be  desolate,  and  the 
sanctuaries  of  Israel  shall  be  laid  waste,  and  I  will  rise  against 
the  house  of  Jeroboam  with  the  sword.'^ 

The  history  (vii.  10-17). — Then  follows  the  history  which  we 
have  already  seen.  Amaziah,  high  priest  of  the  calf-worship 
at  Bethel,  alarmed  both  at  the  stern  menace  of  these  pre- 
dictions and  at  the  deep  effect  which  they  are  exercising  upon 
the  people,  carries  to  the  king  an  exaggerated  and  distorted 
versi<m  of  the  words  of  Amos,  and  reports  him  as  a  traitor. 
The  king  apparently  does  not  personally  interfere,  but  Amaziah, 
on  his  own  authority,  orders  Amos  to  leave  the  royal  chapel 
and  city  of  Bethel,  and  return  to  his  herds  at  Tekoah.  Amos 
has  no  choice  but  to  obey  ;  but  before  he  shakes  the  dust  of 
Bethel  off  from  his  feet,^  he  denounces  on  Amaziah  the  awful 
judgment.  He  has  been  called  from  his  peasant-toil  to  pro- 
phesy, and  the  priest  has  forbidden  him  to  "drop"  God's 
Word  against  the  house  of  Isaac. 

"  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  :  Thy  wife  shall  commit 
whoredom  in  the  city,  thy  sons  and  thy  daughters  fall  by  the 
sword,  thy  land  be  divided  by  lot,  thou  thyself  die  in  a  polluted 
land,  and  Israel  be  led  away  captive  from  his  land." 

Fourth  vision  (viii.  1-3). — But  before  the  prophet  turns  his 

back — 

"On  those  proud  towers  to  swift  destruction  doomed," 

he  narrates  one  more  vision. 

He  sees  a  basket  of  ripe  fruit. 

''  Then  said  Jehovah  unto  me.  The  ripeness  is  come  to  my 
people  Israel;  I   will  not  any  more   forgive   him!^     And  the 

'  Isa.  xxxiv.  II  ;  Lam.  ii,  8. 

»  The  Assyrian  is  not  mentioned,  but  stands  ever  in  the  far  background 
(iv.  2;  V.  5,  27;  vi.  7,  14). 

3  Compare  the  conduct  of  the  Gadarenes  to  otir  Lord  (Luke  viii.  37  ;  cf, 
X.  10-12). 

4  There  is  a  play  of  sound  between  |^^j5  "  summer,"  and  '^\>  "  end." 


66  THE   MINOR   rkOPHETS. 

songs  of  the  palace  shall  be  howlings  in  that  day.  Many 
corpses  !     Everywhere  they  cast  them  forth  !     Be  silent  !  "  ' 

Then,  but  with  yet  more  crushing  force,  does  he  present  the 
images  of  death  and  lamentation  on  which  he  has  already 
touched.  Twice  had  Israel  been  respited  at  his  intercession  ; 
twice,  and  each  time  with  more  decisiveness  and  added  horror, 
has  Israel  been  condemned,  the  final  condemnation  being  the 
natural  consequence  of  the  wilful  obduracy  which  refuses  to 
hear,  and  silences  the  messenger  of  God. 

The  three  first  advancing  judgments  of  the  visions  have 
been  compared  to  the  gradual  approach  of  the  Assyrians. 
First,  Pul— supposed  to  be  Tiglath-Pileser — threatened  the 
land,  and  was  bribed  to  retire  by  the  thousand  talents  of  silver 
given  to  him  by  Menahem  (2  Kings  xv.  19,  20). 

Then  Tiglath-Pileser,  invited  by  Ahaz,  carried  captive  the 
tribes  on  the  north  and  east  (2  Kings  xv.  29  ;  xvi.  7  ;  i  Chron. 
V.  26). 

Lastly  Shalmaneser  subdued  the  whole  country,  and  carried 
away  the  remainder  of  the  people.'' 

V.   Last  Warnings  (viii.  5-14). 

It  is  probable  that  this  sequel  to  his  Book  was  added  by 
Amos  when  he  had  returned  to  his  peaceful  obscurity  and 
toil.  He  bids  the  people  of  the  Northern  Kingdom  weigh  what 
he  has  said.  They  continued  to  practise  oppression.  They 
longed  for  each  feast  to  end  that  they  might  return  to  their 
false  weights  and  deceitful  balances,  and  hard  prices ;  that 
they  might,  as  he  has  said  already,  ''buy  the  poor  for  silver 
and  the  needy  for  a  pair  of  shoes,"  and  sell  their  refuse  wheat. 
But  Jehovah  had  sworn  that  He  would  not  forget  their  deeds. 
Had  not  the  earthquake  terrified  them  ?  The  land  would 
again  rise  and  sink  like  the  Nile,  and  all  that  dwell  on  it 
would  wither  ! 

Had  they  not  also  been  terrified  by  two  recent  eclipses?  3  There 
would  be  a  yet  worse  eclipse  !  The  sun  would  go  down  at 
noon  !  There  should  be  sackcloth  on  all  loins  and  baldness 
on  every  head,  and  mourning  as  for  an  only  son,  and  famine, 
not  only  of  bread  and  water,  but  sore  famine  of  that  very  word 

'  Another  specimen  of  the  incomparable  energy  of  this  prophet's 
lanpuage  (v.  17  ;  vi.  9). 

'  S«ie  the  "  Speaker's  Commentary,"  vi.  p.  549.  3  See  anie,  p.  36. 


THE   PROPHECY   OF    AMOS.  67 

of  the  Lord  which  they  had  wilfully  silenced.  Even  the  fair 
virgins  and  the  young  warriors  should  faint  for  thirst,  and 
they  who  swore  by  the  idol-gods  of  Israel,  the  "god  of  Dan" 
and  the  "  way  of  Beersheba,"  should  fall  for  ever  more  ! ' 

Otie  vision  more  (ix.  1-6). — Then  Amos,  in  one  final  vision, 
saw  Jehovah  standing  upon  the  altar,  and  calling  to  His  angels, 
Smite  the  chapiters  that  the  thresholds  may  shake,  and  shatter 
the  fragments  upon  all  their  heads.  He  that  fleeth  shall  not 
flee  away,  and  he  that  escapeth  shall  not  be  delivered. 
Though  they  dig  into  Sheol  they  shall  be  dragged  up ;  though 
they  climb  into  heaven  they  shall  be  brought  down.  Carmel's 
thick  forests  shall  not  conceal  them,  and  in  the  depths  of  the 
sea  shall  the  serpent  bite  them.*  Even  into  captivity  shall  the 
sword  pursue  them,  for  the  eye  of  the  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth  and  sea  is  upon  them  for  evil — the  Lord  is  His  name.^ 

It  is  a  terrible  picture  of  shattered  Temple  and  scattered 
worshippers  pursued  e  en  to  annihilation,  so  far  as  all  that 
is  evil  in  them  is  concerned.  And  yet  there  is  a  hope,  an 
eternal  hope.  The  vision  of  the  true  prophet  never  ends  in 
irremediable  destruction  or  final  gloom,  since  he  knows  that 
God  is  God,  and  can  only  cease  to  do  good  by  ceasing  to  be 
God.  This  exterminating  wrath  cannot  therefore  be  the  end. 
No  !  the  end  must  ever  be  forgiveness,  restitution,  peace. 
Evil  should  perish,  but  all  that  is  good  shall  be  restored. 
Sanabiles  fecit  nationes  terra. 

Last  "words  of  hope  (ix.  7-15). — Israel  had  been  threatened 
with  banishment  from  their  own  land.  But  had  not  God  in 
ancient  days  and  in  recent  times  removed  other  nations  in 
His  providence?  The  Ethiopians  had  been  brought  to  Africa 
from  Arabia,  Israel  from  Egypt,  the  Philistines  front  Caphtor,* 
the    Syrians    from    Qir   or   Armenia.      As   a    kingdom    Israel 

*  By  "the  way  of  Beersheba"  is  ineant,  perhaps,  the  ritual  there 
l-ractised  (comp.  Acts  ix.  2  ;  xviii.  25,  &c.).  Beersheba  was  twenty-five 
miles  south  of  Hebron,  and  was  an  ancient  local  sanctuary  to  which 
idolaters  from  the  Northern  Kingdom  sometimes  crossed  over  (see  v.  5). 

^    The  water-serpent  (Isa.  xxvii.  i). 

1  The  "  He  that  hath  founded  His  troop  in  the  earth  "  of  the  A.V.  (ix.  6) 
should  be  (as  in  R.V.)  "  has  founded  His  vault  upon  the  earth,"  alluding 
to  the  "  arch  "  or  "vault  of  heaven  "  resting  apparently  on  the  earth. 

^  C:omp.  Jer.  xlvii.  4  ;  Gen.  x.  14.  Before  the  Exodus  the  Caphtorim 
destroyed  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Philistia  (the  Avim),  and  dwelt  in 
'their  stead  (Deut    ii.  23). 


68  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

should  perish  from  the  land.  Yet  it  should  not  perish  utterly. 
It  should  be  shaken  among  the  heathen  as  corn  is  shaken  in 
a  sieve.  As  the  chaff  flies,  so  would  all  the  disbelievers  perish 
by  the  sword  in  spite  of  their  security  ;  but  no  grain  of  true 
corn  should  fall  to  the  earth. 

And  so  the  whole  land  should  once  more  be  one  kingdom 
under  the  House  of  David.  The  tabernacle  of  David  had  been 
rent  with  breaches  and  encumbered  with  ruins  by  Jeroboam  I.' 
and  by  Joash,  and  by  foreign  foes  ;  but  it  should  be  rebuilt, 
and  its  sway  should  extend  over  Edom  and  all  nations  over 
which  God's  name  is  named. ^  Then  should  follow  in  rich 
abundance  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  "  and  the  mountains  drop 
sweet  wine,  and  all  the  hills  flow  down,"  and  a  happy  people 
should  no  more  be  extirpated  from  a  happy  land — saith  Jehovah 
thy  God ! 

So  ends  this  ancient  and  memorable  Book  of  prophecy. 
The  storms  roll  far  away  into  the  distance,  and  there  is  a 
vision  of  peace.  Any  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  in  the  com- 
parative prosperity  of  Judah  under  Uzziah,  and  its  escape 
from  Assyria,  would  be  quite  inadequate  to  meet  the  prophet's 
language.  Most  of  it  has  not  been  fulfilled  in  any  literal  sense, 
but  its  Messianic  yearnings  have  found  an  abundant  spiritual 
fulfilment  in  the  glories  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  to 
the  Messianic  age  it  is  applied  in  the  speech  of  St.  James  to 
the  Apostolic  Synod.^ 

'  "The  Messianic  import  of  this  passage  is  admitted  by  the  ancient 
Jews,  among  whom  '  the  Son  of  the  Fallen '  is  a  title  of  the  Messiah  " 
(Gandell).     This  title — Bar-Naphli— occurs  in  Sanhedrin  f.  76.  b. 

^  St.  James,  in  quoting  these  verses  (Acts  xv.  15-17),  seems  to  have 
followed  a  different  text  which  also  read  adam  "men"  for  Edom,  for  he 
quotes  ' '  that  the  residue  of  men  should  seek  after  the  Lord." 

3  Acts  XV.  16,  17. 


CHAPTER  VI L 

HOSEA.' 

Traditional  heading — Probable  dates  of  his  various  prophecies — Five  divi- 
sions—The chronology  partly  artificial. 

HOSEA  almost  certainly  followed  Amos,  addressing  the  same 
society  but,  for  the  most  part,  at  a  later  period  of  its  history. 

The  key  to  the  work  and  mission  of  Amos  is  given  in  the 
only  two  incidents  of  his  life  which  are  brought  before  us — his 
call  to  be  a  prophet,  and  his  expulsion  from  the  Northern  King- 
dom by  the  authority  of  the  priest  of  Bethel.  Similarly,  we 
know  but  one  incident  in  the  life  of  Hosea.  It  was  this  inci- 
dent which  practically  determined  his  prophetic  calling  ;  and, 
while  it  darkened  all  his  life,  was  yet  the  Divine  instrument  of 
his  education  in  the  great  truths  which  form  his  most  precious 
and  distinctive  teaching.^ 

We  cannot  rely  upon  the  traditional  heading.  It  may  have 
been  attached  to  the  prophecies — or  to  such  fragments  of  them 
as  were  preserved — when  the  canon  was  formed  after  the  period 
of  the  Exile. 

"  The  word  of  the  Lord  which  came  to  Hosea,  son  of  Beeri, 
in  the  days  of  Uzziah,  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings 
of  Judah,  and  in  the  days  of  Jeroboam,  son  of  Joash,  king  of 
Israel." 

The  latter  clause  is  certainly  accurate,  and  may  have  been 
added  by  the  prophet  himself,  as  the  preface  to  the  first  three 

'  riosea  is  placed  first  in  the  order  of  the  Minor  Prophets  both  in  the 
Hebrew  and  the  LXX.  because  his  work  was  the  longest  and  was  therefore 
regarded  as  the  most  important,  just  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  placed 
first  in  order  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles. 

^  Professor  W.  Robertson  Smith  has  written  fully  of  Hosea  in  his 
"  Prophets  of  Israel,"  pp.  159-169  ;  and  there  is  a  paper  on  this  prophet 
by  Professor  Davirlson  in  The  Expositor  for  1879  (pp.  241-264).  Professor 
Cheyne  has  edited  Hosea  in  tlie  "  Cambridge  Bible  for  Scholars." 


JO  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

chapters.  These  were  written  during  the  reign  of  Jerobonm  IT., 
as  is  decisively  shown  by  i.  4,  where  the  fall  of  the  House  of 
Jehu  is  spoken  of  as  still  future.  But  it  is  hardly  likely  that 
Hosea,  a  northerner  and  writing  for  northerners,  would  have 
dated  his  book  by  reigns  of  the  kings  of  Judah.  He  did, 
indeed,  blame  the  revolt  of  the  first  Jeroboam  (i.  il  ;  viii.  4), 
and  he  looked  to  a  subsequent  union  of  Israel  under  a  Daviiiic 
king  (iii.  5^  ;  but  he  still  speaks  of  the  king  of  Israel  as  "  our 
king"  (vii.  5). 

After  the  personal  history  of  the  first  three  chapters  there  are 
five  other  divisions  '  which  may,  perhaps,  be  dimly  perceptible, 
though  they  wholly  lack  the  clear-cut  precision  of  the  burdens 
and  strophes  of  Arnos. 

i.  The  first  (iv-vi.  3)  was  probably  written  in  the  wild  days 
of  anarchy  and  confusion  which  followed  when  the  strong  hand 
of  Jeroboam  II.  was  removed  from  the  helm  of  government. 
Its  allusions  point  to  the  miserable  reign  of  his  son  Zechariah. 

ii.  The  second  division  (vi.  4-vii.  16)  probably  belongs  to  the 
reign  of  Menahem,  when  two  kings,  Zechariah  and  Shallum, 
had  been  murdered.  In  vii.  3-7  there  seems  to  be  an  allusion 
to  a  shameful  scene  of  drunken  revelry,  at  the  close  of  which 
the  conspirators,  headed  by  one  chief  rebel,  murdered  Zechariah 
at  the  close  of  a  six  months'  reign.  And  although  the  phrase 
"  all  the  kings  have  fallen  "  is  sufficiently  justified  by  the  fact 
that  Nadab,  Elah,  Zimri,  Tibni,  Jehoram,  and  Zechariah  all 
perished  by  the  violence  of  assassins,  it  would  come  with  even 
more  force  if  it  succeeded  the  murder  of  Shallum,  who  in  the 
same  year,  744,  was  in  turn  slain  by  the  hand  of  Menahem. 

iii.  The  third  division  (viii.  i-ix.  9)  must  have  been  written 
in  the  reign  of  Menahem,  and  after  that  fierce  soldier  had 
become  the  vassal  of  Assyria,  if  viii.  10  be  rightly  rendered, 
"  that  they  may  cease  a  little  from  the  tribute  to  the  king  of 
princes,"  z.i'.,  to  Tiglath-Pileser  II.,  an  usurper,  who  assumed 
that  haughty  title.=^  That  Menahem  became  a  vassal  to  I'ui, 
whicii  was  the  private  name  of  Tiglath-Pileser,  we  know  from 
2    Kings   XV.  20,   and  also  from   the  mention   Minikhinnni   by 

'  More  l)roadly  we  may  divide  thus— I.  Falsity  of  Israel  to  God's  covenant 
love  (i.-iii).  II.  i.  Israel's  g^iilt  (iv.-viii.).  2.  Israel's  punislinieni  (ix.-.\i.). 
3.   Israel's  forgiveness  upon  repentance  (xii.-xiv.). 

»  •■  Records  of  the  Fast,"  v.  8  ;  Ezek.  xxvi.  7  ;  Isa.  x.  8  :  "  For  he  sailli, 
f\re  not  my  princes  all  of  them  kings?  " 


HOSEA.  71 

Shalmaneser  with  Rasunnu  (Rezin)  among  his  tributaries  in 

738. 

iv.  The  fourth  division  (ix.  lo-xi.  li)  was  almost  certainly 
written  under  King  Hoshea.  Already  there  had  arisen  the 
not  unnatural  project  of  forming  an  alliance  with  Egypt  as  a 
counterpoise  to  Assyria  (vii.  ii).  The  phrase,  "  Memphis  shall 
bury  them"  (ix.  6),  seenis  to  ailude  to  tn- cemetery  of  Memphis; 
and  X.  5-7,  xi.  II,  apply  perhaps  to  the  final  ruin  and  removal 
of  King  Hoshea,  or  to  the  days  of  the  siege  of  Simaria,  when 
his  fate  was  imminent.  The  words  "as  Shalman  spoiled  Beth- 
Arbel  in  the  day  of  battle"  (x.  14),  have  been  generally  supposed 
to  refer  to  some  capture  of  Arbela  near  PelLn,  on  the  east  of 
Jordm,  by  Shalmaneser  III.,  in  775  or  a  little  earlier.'  The 
identification  is,  however,  uncertain.  Beth-Arbel  vii^lif  be  the 
Assyrian  Arbela,  and  as  Shalman  is  not  called  king  or  king  of 
Assyria,  nor  is  Shalmaneser  ever  so  abbreviated,  the  allusion 
may  be  to  a  Moabitish  king  Salamanu,  who  is  mentioned  among 
the  vassals  of  Tiglath-Pileser.' 

v.  The  fifth  division  (xii.  i-xiv.  9)  was  also  evidently  written 
before  the  final  crash  of  ruin,  during  the  last  crisis  of  the  national 
fate,  but  while  hope  is  still  a  possibility.^  Hosea  eitlier  did  not 
survive  to  witness  the  ultimate  catastrophe  of  the  Fall  of  Samaria 
(about  722),  or,  if  he  did,  he  wrote  and  spoke  no  more.  In  his 
days  Israel  was  still  wavering  between  subjection  to  Assyria 
and  the  ill-fated  attempt  to  throw  off  the  Assyrian  yoke  by 
alliance  with  So  (Sevah  or  Sabaco),  king  of  Egypt,  which  was 
the  destruction  of  her  last  king,  Hoshea.  The  Egyptian  So,  of 
the  Ethiopian  dynasty,  was  thought  sufficiently  powerful  to 
promise  support  to  the  little  sinking  kingdom  of  Israel ;  but 
Egypt  always  proved  to  be  a  broken  reed  on  which  to  lean. 
King  Hoshea  was  summoned  before  Shalmaneser  IV.  to  answer 
for  his  dubious  allegiance.  He  did  not  dare  to  disobey,  and  on 
appearing  before  his  suzerain  he  was  flung  into  chains,  and 

•  Schrader,  "  Keil  inschriften,"  pp.  4.4.0-442. 

^  The  Septuagint,  the  Vulgate,  &c.  (followed  by  Geiger)  identify  ' '  Prince 
Salamon  "  with  the  Mldianite  Sheykh  Zalmunna  of  Judg.  viii.  18;  Psa. 
}xxxiii.  II.  On  the  horrible  barbarity  of  dashing  infants  to  pieces  see 
2  Kings  viii.  12 ;  Psa.  cxxxvii.  8,  9. 

3  It  has,  however,  been  objected  to  this  view  that  in  vi.  8,  xii.  11  he  still 
speaks  of  Gilead  as  a  part  of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  although  its  inhabitants 
had  been  carried  captive  in  the  reign  of  Pekah  (2  Kings  \v.  29)  ;  and  that 
he  makes  no  allusion  to  the  raid  of  Pekah  and  the  Syrians  against  J udaJi. 


72  THE  MINOR  PROPHETS. 

suddenly  disappears  from  history.  In  x.  3  we  are  told  that 
"the  people  of  Samaria  shall  bemoan  the  calves  of  Bethaven,' 
for  its  glory  shall  be  carried  into  Assyria  for  a  present  to  the 
fighting  king"  (A.V.  King  Jareb  ;  comp.  v.  13).  Even  in  xiv.  3 
the  prophet  is  still  thinking  of  a  time  when  some  composition 
with  Assyria  did  not  seem  impossible." 

It  follows  from  what  we  have  seen  that  there  is  an  obvious 
difference  of  standpoint  between  Hosea  and  Isaiah.  Hosea 
writes  while  Israel  still  hesitates  between  the  dangerous  alliance 
of  Egypt  and  of  Assyria  (xiv.  3)'  to  which  he  alludes  even  at 
the  close  of  his  prophecy  ;  whereas  in  the  days  of  Isaiah  all 
question  of  alliance  with  the  cruel  and  desolating  power  of 
A'-syria  was  long  at  an  end. 

Besides  this,  Hosea  constantly  speaks  of  Gilead  and  Galilee 
as  parts  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  (v.  i  ;  vi.  8  ;  xii.  11),  whereas 
in  the  later  Micah  (vii.  16)  these  places  are  spoken  of  as  desolate 
after  the  depopulation  which  had  been  inflicted  upon  them  by 
Tiglath-Pileser  (2  Kings  xv.  29). 

Though  the  details  are  uncertain,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
present  heading  is  misleading.  Some  of  Hosea's  prophecies 
may  fall  in  the  reign  of  Jotham,  king  of  Judah,  who,  according 
to  Duncker's  chronology — which  partly  corrects  the  rough 
Biblical  approximation  by  the  Assyrian  inscriptions — reigned 
!5  C.  740-734.  He  was,  therefore,  contemporary  with  Menahem 
'748),  Pekahiah  (738),  and  Pekah  (736).  Ahaz  was  contemporary 
with  part  of  Hoshea's  reign  (734-722).  But  that  Hosea  could 
have  prophesied  during  any  part  of  the  reign  of  Hczekiah  (B.C. 
728-697)  is  inconceivable,  not  because  it  will  give  the  inordinate 
range  of  some  sixty-two  years  to  his  prophecies,  but  because 
there  is  not  a  line  in  his  extant  prophecies  which  is  not  dis- 
accordant  with  the  state  of  things  in  the  Northern  Kingdom 
after  the  Fall  of  Samaria. 

And  this  is  a  convenient  place  at  which  to  call  attention  to 
the  certainty  that  the  biblical  chronology  of  the  Kings  is  merely 
given  in  round  numbers.  It  consists  mainly  of  multiples  of 
twenty.     No  exactitude  is  aimed  at ;  no  materials  existed  for 

'  Apparently  a  name  of  scorn  for  Bethel,  which  probably  originated  with 
Amos. 

^  These  five  divisions  are  the  arrangement  adopted  by  Ewald  ("Prophets 
A  Israel  "),  and  by  Volck,  in  Herzog's  "  Cyclop.'tdia." 

3  Comp.  V.  13,  14  ;  vii.  \\,  iz  ;  viii.  9,  10  ;  xii.  i. 


HOSE  A.  73 

it.  The  vague  date  of  Amos,  "two  years  after  the  earthquake," 
shows  that  in  his  days  the  Hebrews  still  reckoned  in  the  most 
primitive  manner.  The  Assyrian  chronology  was  much  more 
accurate  and  careful. 

Two  facts  decisively  show  that  the  system  of  Archbishop 
Ussher,  based  on  the  attempt  to  synchronise  the  data  given  for 
the  two  lines  of  kings  in  Judah  and  Israel  is  not  tenable. 

1.  The  first  proof  is  that  the  synchronism  can  only  be  brought 
about  by  arbitrary  hypotheses.  For  if  we  add  together 
the  periods  in  the  two  kingdoms  which  are  said  to  be  contem- 
porary we  find  that  twenty  more  years  are  assigned  to  the  kings 
of  Judah  than  to  the  parallel  kings  of  Israel  for  the  same  period : 
in  other  words,  the  southern  chronology  from  Rehoboam  to  the 
Fall  of  Samaria  (in  the  sixth  year  of  Hezekiah — i  Kings  xviii. 
9,  id)  is  twenty  years  longer  than  the  northern  chronology  from 
Jeroboam  I.  to  the  Fall  of  Samaria.  This  discrepancy  can  only 
be  got  over  (i)  by  altering  the  text  (as  was  done  by  George 
Smith)  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  Jeroboam  II.  reign  fifty-one 
instead  of  forty-one  years,  and  Pekah  reign  thirty  years  instead 
of  twenty  ;  or  (2)  by  inventing  an  interregnum  of  eleven  years 
between  Jeroboam  II.  and  his  son  Zechariah,  and  a  period  of 
nine  years'  anarchy  before  King  Hoshea.  As  there  is  not  a 
shadow  of  textual  or  Biblical  authority  for  these  Procrustean 
processes  it  is  clear  that  as  it  stands  the  chronology  is  only 
general,  and  to  a  certain  extent  conjectural.' 

2.  And  the  second  proof  of  the  artificial  character  of  the 
data  in  the  Book  of  Kings  is  their  symmetrical  arrangement. 
When  Niebuhr  examined  the  legendary  chronology  of  the  early 
kings  of  Rome,  its  purely  hypothetical  character  was  obvious 
when  he  saw  that  the  middle  year  of  the  entire  period  coincided 
with  the  middle  year  of  the  middle  king.  Such  coincidences 
never  occur  in  real  history.  They  are  as  clear  a  proof  of  inven- 
tion or  modification  as  an  isolated  footstep  on  the  sand  is  a 
proof  that  a  human  being  has  been  there.     Now  the  Biblical 

'  Of  Ussher's  system,  Prebendary  Huxtable  says  ("  Speaker's  Commen- 
tary," vi.  399) :  "The  chronology  given  in  the  margin  of  our  A.V.  rests 
for  the  most  part  upon  numerical  sLTenients  in  our  present  Hebrew  text, 
which  are  themselves,  in  several  instances,  incapable  of  being  reconciled 
with  one  another  without  the  aid  of  various  conjectures  either  of  interreg- 
nums, or  of  co-regnunis,  or  of  repeated  accessions,  for  which  there  is  no 
evidence  except  those  convenient  for  this  purpose,  and  it  has  now  become, 
in  a  serious  degree,  discredited  by  the  records  of  Assyrian  history. 


74  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

chronology,  as  Professor  Robertson  Smith  has  pointed  out,  has 
exactly  this  stamp  of  system.  The  Judipan  chronicler  j^ives 
exactly  480  (=12X40)  years  from  the  Exodus  to  the  foundation 
of  Solomon's  Temple,  and  480  years  from  the  founding  of  the 
Temple  to  the  return  from  the  Exile  (B.C.  535).'  And  not  only 
does  he  give  exactly  half  this  period — 240  years — for  the  duration 
of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  but  also  divides  the  history  of 
the  north  into  three  exact  periods  of  80  years,  of  which  the 
second  begins  with  the  Syrian  wars  in  the  fourth  year  of  Ahab, 
and  coincides  with  their  duration.  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  the  chronological  data  were  conjecturally  added  by  the 
editors  after  the  return  from  the  Exile,  from  which  year  (B.C. 
535)  they  reckoned  backward.* 

The  Assyrian  records,  as  Schrader  points  out  in  his  book 
on  the  Cuneiform  Inscriptions,  seem  to  lead  to  two  conclusions  : 
(i)  First,  that  Jehu  paid  tribute  to  Shalmaneser,  king  of 
Assyria,  as  far  back  as  B.C.  842,3  which  shows  that  Assyria  must 
have  emerged  on  the  horizon  of  prophetic  insight  much  earlier 
than  has  commonly  been  supposed  ;  and  that  Menahem  again 
paid  tribute  104  years  later,  B.C.  738.  (2)  And  secondly,  that 
there  was  no  interregnum  between  Jeroboam  II.  and  the  six 
months'  reign  of  his  son  Zechariah  ;  but  that  the  destruction, 
already  prophesied  by  Amos  and  Hosea,  instead  of  being 
delayed  for  sixty  years,  really  took  place  not  more  than  thirty 
years  after  the  date  of  their  prophecies.* 

'  The  absence  of  this  datum  from  1  Kings  vi.  i  in  the  LXX.  shows, 
perhaps,  that  it  was  post-exilic. 

*  See  this  more  clearly  and  fully  stated  by  Dr.  Robertson  Smith, 
"  Prophets  of  Israel,"  144-153,  who  partly  follows  Noldeke  and  W  ell- 
hausen.  He  first  points  out  the  tri-section  of  Israelitish  history  into  three 
periods  of  eighty  years  in  the  "Journal  of  Philology,"  x.  209  se(/.  The 
synchronisms  of  the  two  lines  of  kings  are  evidently  added  (and  with 
various  discrepancies  and  hiatuses)  by  a  later  hand.  Wellhausen  has 
further  shown  that,  in  some  instances,  they  have  been  so  inserted  as  to 
disturb  the  natural  construction  of  the  sentence. 

3  The  name  of  "Jahua,  son  of  Chumri,"  occurs  on  an  obelisk  of 
Shalmaneser  II.,  and  he  is  represented  as  giving  tribute  in  cups,  vases,  lead, 
and  ingots  of  gold  and  silver  (see  Schrader,  "  Die  Keilinschr.,"  208-224; 
Dunckor's  "  Hist,  of  Ant."  ii.). 

*  The  date  of  the  actual  fall  of  Samaria  is  still  uncertain  ;  but  as  the 
siege  was  Ijcgun  by  Shalmaneser  and  ended  by  Sargon,  it  probably  took 
place  about  722,  when  llial  king  c.ime  to  the  throne.  Wc  may,  perhaps,  infer 


HOSEA.  75 

If  it  be  asked  whether  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  may  not  have 
been  falsified  and  exaggerated  by  the  vanity  of  conquerors  ; 
we  answer  that,  besides  seven  copies  of  the  Assyrian  canon  of 
Eponyms,  we  possess  records  which  were  actually  contemporary 
with  the  reigns  of  the  monarchs.  They  might  sometimes 
exaggerate ;  but  they  could  hardly  lie.  That  they  should 
slur  over  a  disaster  is  not  unnatural  ;  but  they  would  not  invent 
a  victory. 

Returning  to  the  heading  of  Hosea's  prophecy,  we  may 
observe  that  though  the  prophet  is  always  called  Ho.fea,'  and 
the  king  Hos/iea,  yet  the  two  names  are  precisely  the  same, 
and  are  indeed  identical  with  that  borne  by  Joshua  in  his 
earlier  days.^  Apart  from  a  few  valueless  legends,  no  facts  of 
his  biography  have  been  preserved  except  such  as  we  learn 
from  himself.  Of  his  father  Beeri  3  nothing  is  known.  The 
Rabbis  assert  that  whenever  any  prophet's  father  is  named  in 
Scripture,  the  father  also  was  a  prophet.  They  even  go  so  far 
as  to  attribute  to  Beeri  the  authorship  of  Isa.  viii.  19,  20  ;  but 
there  is  not  the  least  ground  for  such  a  conjecture.  They  also 
identify  him  with  the  Beerah  of  i  Chron.  v.  6,  who  is  mentioned 
as  a  prince  of  Reuben,  captured  by  TiglathPileser.  The  un- 
known writers  of  the  traditions  of  the  Prophets,  assigned  to 
Epiphanius  and  Dorotheus,  say  that  Hosea  was  born  at  Bele- 
moth  in  Issachar,  which  Jerome  identifies  with  the  Beth  shemesh 
of  Josh.  xix.  22. 

That  Hosea  was  a  northerner  is  certain  from  the  whole  tenor 
of  his  prophecy.  He  was  not  the  earliest  of  the  Northern 
prophets,  for  he  had  been  preceded  by  Samuel,  Ahijah,  Elijah, 
Elisha,  Jonah,  and  others  ;  but  he  is  the  earliest  northerner 
whose  prophecies  are  preserved,  and  he  is  also  the  last.  His 
allusions  to  Judah  are  secondary  and  incidental.  The  day  of 
Judah's  visitation  had  not  yet  come,  and  there  was  a  hope  of 
her  ultimate  deliverance.*  Hosea  is  not  indeed  without  deep 
apprehension  that  she  too  may  be  corrupted  by  the  fatal" 
example    of   her  sister    Ephraim,    and   as    time   went   on    he 

from  2  Kings  xvii.  4-6,  and  from  Hosea  x.  7,  that  Hoshea  was  deffated  and 
taken  captive  before  the  siege. 

'  J?^<*in  The  form  Hosea,  like  the  Osee  of  Rom.  ix.  24,  comes  from 
the  LXX  'Q(7?j£  and  the  Vulgate. 

^  2  Kings  XV.  3c  ;  Num.  xiii.  8,  16  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  44. 

■'■  Tiie  name  occurs  Gen.  xxvi.  34.  t  Hosea  i.  7  ;  iv.  15. 


76  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

came  to  the  sorrowful  conviction  of  her  deepening  apostasy 
and  inevitable  fall."  But  while  he  deplores  the  schism  which 
had  rent  the  two  kingdoms  asunder,-  and  looks  ultimately  to  a 
Messiah  of  the  House  of  David,''  and  speaks  with  scorn  and 
hatred  of  the  cherubic  symbols  at  Uan  and  Bethel,  which  he 
calls  "  calves  ;  "''  yet  he  is  a  northerner  in  heart.  His  images 
and  turns  of  expression  seem  sometimes  to  be  influenced  by 
the  Canticles,  an  exquisite  idyll  of  pure  love  which  originated 
in  the  Ten  Tribes.  His  whole  soul  yearns  for  his  native  country 
with  an  infinite  tenderness.  The  towns  and  places  to  which 
he  refers — Mizpeh,  Gilead,  Tabor,  Bethel,  Gilgal,  Shechem,^ 
Samaria,  Jezreel,  and  Lebanon— are  all  connected  with  the  land 
which  he  tenderly  calls  "  Ephraim,"  after  the  beloved  son  of 
Joseph.  Patriotism  was  never  more  passionate  than  that  which 
breathes  through  every  line  of  this  Jeremiah  of  the  North. 

And  yet  his  patriotism  leads  him  to  no  illusions.  He  looks 
to  the  very  depth  of  the  heart  of  his  country  and  sees  that  it  is 
in  a  state  of  corruption  which  can  only  end  in  dissolution. 
The  view  which  Amos  formed  of  the  condition  of  Israel  is  the 
view  taken  by  a  casual  stranger,  and  dwells  only  on  obvious 
phenomena.  But  Hosea  speaks  with  all  the  knowledge  of  a 
man  whose  lifelong  home  has  been  in  the  country  which  he 
describes.  Like  Amos,  he  dwells  on  the  outward  and  glaring 
forms  of  evil  ;  but  he  probes  more  deeply  than  his  predecessor 
into  the  causes  from  which  they  spring,  and  details  more 
precisely  the  forms  which  they  assume.  Even  in  the  powerful 
rule  of  Jeroboam  IL  he  is  only  able  to  see  a  godless  militarism, 
founded  upon  massacre.*  But  when  Jeroboam  was  dead,  and 
in  the  ensuing  anarchy  when  the  elemental  passions  of  human 
nature  surged  over  the  petty  barriers  opposed  to  them  by  rival 
usurpers,'  he  felt  more  and  more  that  it  had  become  his  un- 
happy lot  to  be  the  prophet  of  the  decadence  and  overthrow  of 

'  iv.  15,  V.  6,  10-14;  vi.  11;  viii.  14;  x.  ii  ;  xii.  1-3.  The  indications 
derived  by  Ewald  from  v.  8  and  from  the  use  of  "  there  "  in  vi.  7,  lo;  ix. 
15,  that  Hosea  was  actually  writing  at  the  time  in  the  Southern  Kingdom, 
are  too  slight  to  be  relied  upon. 

"  iii.  4  ;  vii.  5-7  ;  viii.  4,  &c.  3  iii.  6.  *  viii.  5,  6,  and  passim. 

5  In  vi.  9,  the  words  rendered  in  the  A.  V.  "by  consent  "  should  be  as  in 
the  R.V.,  "towards  Shechem,"and  the  prophet's  allusion  to  the  disgrace 
of  that  locality  by  the  robber  bands  organized  by  priests,  shows  an  in- 
timate knowledge  of  the  state  of  affairs. 

•  i.  4.  7  2  Kings  XV.  8-20. 


HOSEA.  77 

the  land  he  loved.  King  succeeded  king,  and  dynasty  dynasty 
with  horrible  rapidity.  As  in  the  days  of  the  Barrack-Emperors 
of  falling  Rome,  the  purple  was  a  sure  mark  for  the  dagger- 
thrust,  and  "  blood  touched  blood  "  on  the  slippery  footsteps  of 
the  throne.'  Universal  confusion  followed.  There  was  no 
truth,  nor  mercy,  nor  knowledge  of  God  in  the  land  ;  there  was 
nothing  but  swearing,  and  lying,  and  killing,  and  stealing,  and 
committing  adultery,  which  called  for  an  immediate  and  ravag- 
ing retribution.^  Page  after  page  of  the  prophet  rings  with 
denunciations  of  drunkenness,  robbery,  and  whoredom.  One 
vile  scene  in  particular,  which  he  describes  with  an  evident 
sense  of  anguish,  may  stand  for  a  picture  of  the  evils  which 
were  eating  like  a  cancer  into  the  afflicted  kingdom.  It  was  a 
scene  which  had  taken  place  in  Samaria,  in  which  a  band  of 
infamous  revellers  had  at  first  degraded  the  king  by  their  in- 
citements to  drink,  and  then,  seizing  their  opportunity,  had 
murdered  the  boon-companion  whom  they  had  first  morally 
destroyed.  It  reads  like  a  scene  from  the  assassination  of 
a  Commodus  or  an  Elagabalus — 

■" '  They  make  the  king  glad  with  their  wickedness, 
And  the  princes  with  their  lies. 
They  are  all  adulterers  ; 
They  are  an  oven  heated  by  the  baker  ; 
He  (only)  ceases  to  stir  the  fire  between  the  kneading  of  the  dough  and 

its  fermenting. 
On  the  day  of  our  king  the  princes  are  sick  with  the  fever  of  wine  ; 
He  (the  king)  stretched  out  his  hand  with  scorners. 
Yea,  almost  like  the  oven  have  they  made  their  heart  in  their  intrigue. 
All  night  slept  their  baker,3 

In  the  morning  the  oven  bumeth  as  a  flaming  fire. 
They  all  glow  as  an  oven  ; 
They  have  devoured  their  judges  ; 
All  their  kings  are  fallen  ! 
Not  one  of  them  calleth  upon  me."* 

The  allusions  are  naturally  somewhat  vague,  and  the  style 
has  the  element  of  difficulty  and  uncertainty  of  text  which 
is  found  frequently  in  this  Book ;  but  no  one  can  mistake 
the  terrible  force  of  the  metaphor.  We  see  here  a  drunken 
king    amid     his    drunken    princes,     ignorant    of    his     peril, 

'      iV.    2.  2     jy^     2-3. 

3  Another  reading  is  "  their  anger,"  Targum  and  Peshito. 
••  Hosea  vii.  3-7. 


78  THE  MINOR  PROPHETS. 

though  he  is  surrounded  by  wicked  plotters  who  have 
gained  his  confidence  by  flattering  his  vices.  Thus  the 
subjects  aid  and  abet  the  rulers  in  their  abominations  ;  a 
general  demoralization  prevails ;  all  are  constantly  blazing 
with  passion  and  infamy  like  an  oven  ;  and  as  the  baker 
only  rests  from  heating  during  the  few  hours  of  the  night 
between  the  kneading  of  the  dough  and  its  fermenting,  so 
they  rest  from  inflaming  their  burning  passions  of  lust  and 
violence  no  longer  than  is  necessary  for  the  acquirement  of 
new  powers,  their  whole  business  being  the  perpei  a'  in- 
dulgence of  their  desires.  The  king  exchanges  intimacy  with 
men  totally  corrupt,  and  behind  the  wine-sick  fever-heat  of 
the  banquet  they  are  plotting  to  kill  him.  Their  oven  and  the 
passion  which  heats  it,  only  sleeps  till  the  moment  when  their 
treachery  can  be  successful,  but  by  the  dawn  it  blazes  into  the 
crime  of  murder.  This  is  the  career  of  such  princes  and  such 
subjects  ;  and  thus  have  their  kings  fallen  by  assassination  ; 
while  yet  not  one  among  them  seeks  the  true  salvation.' 

"  Like  princes,  like  people  ;  "  but  also  alas  !  "  like  people, 
like  priests," — a  proverb  which  has  acquired  currency  from  its 
fatal  truth,  but  which  Hosea  originated.*  The  causes  for  the 
wide-spread  immorality  were  twofold,  as  Hosea,  resident 
perhaps  in  Samaria,  saw  more  clearly  and  pointed  out  more 
definitely  than  Amos.     They  were  : 

I.  The  detestable  vileness  and  hypocrisy  of  the  priests,  with 
whom,  as  usual,  the  false  prophets  were  in  league.  From 
Hosea,  the  earliest  of  the  northern  prophets  whose  works  are 
extant,  to  Mai  ichi  the  latest  prophet  of  the  returned  exiles,  the 
priests  had  very  little  right  to  be  proud  of  their  title.  Their 
pretensions  were,  for  the  most  part,  in  inverse  proportion  to 
their  merits.  The  neutrality,  or  the  direct  wickedness,  of  the 
religious  teachers  of  a  country,  torpid  in  callous  indilierence 
and  stereotyped  in  false  traditions,  is  always  the  worst 
sign  of  a  nation's  decadence.  Hosea  was  no  exception 
to  the  rule  that  ihe  true  teacher  must  be  prepared  to  bear 
the  beatiiuile  of  malediction,  and  not  least  from  those  who 
ought  to  share  his  responsibilities.  Amos  had  found  by  ex- 
perience that  for  any  man  who  desired  a  reputation  for  worldly 

•  EwaUl,  "  Prophets  of  Israel,"  i.  268.  l-'our  kings  were  murdered  in 
forty  years.  *  iv.  9. 


HOSEA.  79 

prudence,  the  wisest  rule  was  to  hold  his  tongue  ; '  but  Hosea, 
for  whom  there  was  no  escape  from  his  native  land,  nothing 
remained  but  to  bear  the  reproach  that  "  the  prophet  is  a  fool, 
and  the  spiritual  man  is  mad,"  uttered  by  men  full  of  iniquity 
and  hatred.  A  fowler's  snare  was  laid  for  him  in  all  his  ways, 
and  he  found  nothing  but  enmity  in  the  house  of  his -God.* 
The  priests  suffered  the  people  to  perish  for  lack  of  knowledge. 
They  set  their  hearts  on  their  iniquity,  and  contentedly  connived 
at,  if  they  did  not  directly  foster,  the  sinfulness  of  the  people, 
which  at  any  rate  secured  them  an  abundance  of  sin-offerings. 
So  far  had  they  apostatized  from  their  functions  as  moral 
teachers.3  And  there  was  worse  behind.  They  were  active 
fomenters  of  evil ;  they  were  as  "a  snare  on  Mizpah,  and  a  net 
spread  on  Tabor.""  Two  other  places — Gilead  and  Shechem  — 
were  rendered  infamous  by  their  enormities.  Bloody  foot- 
prints marked  the  soil,  and  "  as  bandits  lying  in  wait,  (so  doth) 
the  company  of  priests  :  they  murder  on  the  road  towards 
Shechem  ;  yea,  they  commit  outrages."  s  The  places  were 
sanctuaries,  and  the  very  priests  who  should  have  done  their 
utmost  to  secure  the  safety  of  the  pilgrims,  actually  joined 
with  the  depredators,  and  murdered,  perhaps,  the  innocent 
homicides  who  fled  to  Shechem,  which  was  a  city  of  refuge. 

But  the  second  cause  of  the  national  apostasy  lay  deeper  still- 
It  was  : 

2.  The  corruption  of  worship  and  religion  at  its  source. 

The  "  calf-worship"  was  now  beginning  to  produce  its  natural 
fruit.  It  would  have  indignantly  disclaimed  the  stigma  of 
idolatry.  It  was  represented  as  "  image- worship,"  the  adora- 
tion of  cherubic  symbols,  which  were  in  themselves  regarded 
as  being  so  little  a  violation  of  the  Second  Commandment  that 
they  were  consecrated  even  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  The 
centralization  of  worship,  it  must  be  borne  in  mmd,  was  a  new 
thing.  Local  sanctuaries  and  local  altars  had  been  sanctioned 
by  kings,  and  used  by  prophets  for  time  immemorial.  The 
worship  at  Dan  and  Bethel  could  have  claimed  to  be,  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  word,  a  worship  of  Jehovah,  as  legitimate, 
as  national,  and   as  ancient   as  that   at   Jerusalem.     For  the 

'  Amos  V.  13.  *  ix.  7,  8.  3  iv.  6-8  ;  comp.  Isa.  ix.  16. 

♦  V.  2.  The  next  verse  is  obscure,  and  probably  the  text  is  corrupt.  It 
may  mean  "  And  the  revolters  are  pvofase  in  murders,  but  I  am  a  lebuke 
to  them  all."  s  vi.  8,  9.     Cheyne,  "  Hosea,"  p.  £0. 


8o  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

OX  was  the  most  distinctive  emblem  of  the  cherub,  and  even 
in  the  wilderness,  cherubs — possibly  winged  oxen — had  bent 
over  the  mercy-seat,  and  been  woven  on  the  curtains,  and  in 
the  Temple  of  Solomon  had  been  embossed  upon  the  walls,  and 
formed  the  support  of  the  great  brazen  laver.  Jeroboam  I. 
might  have  plausibly  argued  that  he  had  a  right  to  set  them  up 
for  political  reasons  in  his  own  kingdom.  He  would  have 
found  plenty  of  priests  to  assure  him  that  such  symbols  were 
edifying,  and  aided  the  devotions  of  the  people.  Nevertheless, 
Jeroboam  had  been  warned  from  the  first  by  the  word  of 
prophecy  that  he  was  doing  wrong,  and  had  given  no  heed  to 
the  warning.  It  is  true  that  we  read  of  no  protest  against  this 
symbolism  either  by  Elijah,  Elisha,  or  Jonah.  Even  Amos,  of 
the  Southern  Kingdom,  only  indirectly  discountenances  it.  But 
Hosea  could  more  truly  estimate  its  effects,  and  he  judged  it  by 
its  fruits.  He  saw  the  fatal  facility  with  which  the  title  ''Baal," 
"  Lord,"  might  be  transferred  from  the  Lord  of  lords  to  the 
heathen  Baalim.  He  saw  how  readily  the  emblem  of  Jehovah 
might  be  identified  with  the  idol  of  Phoenicia.  The  alliance  of 
Ahab  with  Jezebel,  a  daughter  of  the  usurper  Ethbaal  of  Tyre, 
who  had  been  a  priest  of  Astarte,  and  the  rapid  diffusion  of  un- 
disguised Baal-worship,  among  all  but  7,000  in  Israel  had  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  faithful  to  the  peril  of  this  great  abuse.  Jehovah- 
worship  was  perverted  into  nature-worship,  and  the  coarse 
emblems  of  Asherah  and  Ashtoreth  smoothed  the  way  for  a 
cultus  of  which  the  basis  was  open  sensuality.  The  festal  dances 
of  Israelites  in  honour  of  God,  which  were  as  old  as  the  days  of 
the  Judges,"  became  polluted  with  all  the  abominations  of  the 
Phcenician  worship.  The  "adultery  "  and  "  whoredom,"  which 
are  denounced  so  incessantly  on  the  page  of  Hosea,  are  not 
only  the  metaphors  for  idolatry,  but  the  literal  description  of  the 
lives  which  that  idolatry  corrupted. 

Thus,  then,  Hosea  found  himself  surrounded  with  "the  bar- 
barous dissonance  of  Bacchus  and  his  revellers,"  and  he  could 
not  suffer  his  voice  to  fall  mute — 

"  Tho'  fallen  on  evil  times, 
On  evil  times  tho'  fallen,  and  evil  tongues, 
In  darkness,  and  with  dangers  circled  round 
Aod  solitude." 

It  is  sometimes  tne  glorious  mission  of  prophet  and  statesmai\ 
•  Judges  xxi.  21. 


HOSEA.  8 1 

to  kindle  the  ardour  of  a  generous  courage;  like  Tyrtaeus  who 
roused  the  Spartans  to  resist ;  like  Demosthenes,  who  encouraged 
Athens  to  confront  Philip  of  Macedon  ;  like  Chatham,  "  bidding 
England  be  of  good  cheer  and  hurl  defiance  at  her  foes  "  ;  and 
Pitt,  in  the  struggle  against  Napoleon,  pouring  forth  "  the  in- 
domitable language  of  courage  and  of  hope."  Such  was  the 
part  which,  a  generation  later,  fell  to  the  lot  of  Isaiah,  who 
taught  Jerusalem  to  say  to  the  mighty  king  of  Assyria,  ''  The 
virgin,  the  daughter  of  Sion,  hath  despised  thee  .  .  .  the 
daughter  of  Jerusalem  hath  shaken  her  head  at  thee."  Toothers 
has  fallen  the  far  more  trying  and  melancholy  duty  of  counsel- 
ling submission,  of  saying  that  even  the  time  for  repentance  is 
almost  past,  of  denouncing  an  inevitable  doom.  Such  was 
the  function  of  Phocion  after  the  battle  of  Chaeroneia,  of 
Hannibal  after  Zama  ;  of  Thiers  after  Sedan  ;  and,  in  Jewish 
history,  such  was  the  work  of  Hosea  in  the  Northern,  and  Jere- 
miah in  the  Southern  Kingdom.  But  this  Cassandra-voice  of 
prophecy  was  isolated,  and  spoke  in  vain,  and  involved  the 
braving  of  much  hatred  and  bitter  opposition.  Such  was  the 
fate  which  Hosea  had  to  endure  nearly  all  his  life  long,  and  it 
has  left  its  traces  on  his  melancholy  page.  He  knew  what  it 
was  to  be  derided  as  a  madman,  and  despised  as  a  fool.' 

No  further  particulars  respecting  him  are  known,  except  his 
relations  to  Gomer  bath  Diblaim,  of  which  we  shall  speak 
later  on.  Christian  tradition,  as  represented  by  Pseudo-Epi- 
phanius  and  others,  says  that  he  was  carried  captive  to  Babylon, 
where  he  died,  but  that  his  body  was  brought  back  to  Palestine 
and  buried  at  Safed,  where  his  grave  was  shown.  Another 
tomb  of  the  NebyOsha  is  shown  east  of  the  Jordan,  near  Es-Salt.^ 

But  part  of  the  deep  interest  which  attaches  to  Hosea  lies  in 
the  fact  that  he  is  "  the  only  prophet  of  the  Northern  Kingdom 
who  has  left  any  written  prophecy."  There  must  have  been 
vigorous  life  in  this  little  State  which  called  forth  the  energy  ot 
such  prophets  as  Elijah,  Elisha,  and  Jonah,  and  of  such  kings 
as  Jeroboam  II.  and  Pekah  ;  and  which  also  produced  literature 
so  striking  as  the  Song  of  Deborah,  the  Prophecy  of  Hosea,  and 
the  Song  of  Songs.  But  its  fertility  and  prosperity  led  to  nature- 
worship  and  dissoluteness,  and  fostered  the  germs  of  its  pre- 
mature decay — the  grey  hairs  which  were  sprinkled  upon 
Ephraim,  and  he  knew  it  not  (vii.  9). 

'  Hosea  ix.  7. 
2  For  the  legends  about  him,  see  Knobel,  "  Prophetismus,"  ii.  154. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  PROPHECY  OF  HOSEA. 

Hosea  obscure  in  outline — His  style — His  allusions  to  nature  and  to 
history — His  paronomasias — References  to  him  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment— His  theology — The  book  of  his  prophecies — i.  Accusations 
against  Israel— 2.  More  special  accusations — 3  The  punishment  — 
4.  Retrospect,  denunciation,  consolation — Wrong  lines  of  interpreta- 
tion— 5.  Final  retrospect  and  conclusion — The  tone  and  colour  of  his 
prophecies  explained  by  his  personal  experiences — Autobiography  in- 
volved in  the  three  first  chapters.    The  lesson  which  Hosea  had  learnt. 

The  Book  of  Hosea  presents  no  such  distinct  articulations  as 
those  which  marlc  the  framework  of  the  Book  of  Amos.  It 
falls  into  two  main  divisions.  Of  these,  the  three  first  chapters 
stand  apart  from  the  rest,  though  they  colour  the  whole 
book  with  their  imagery  and  emotions.  They  explain  to  us  the 
style  of  the  prophet,  and  why  he  was  the  manner  of  man  he 
was. 

But  the  remaining  chapters  (iv.-xiv.)  fall  into  a  division 
by  themselves,  and  contain  the  sum  and  substance  of  the 
prophet's  utterances.  We  will,  therefore,  consider  them  first, 
and  return  afterwards  to  the  personal  narrative. 

No  prophet  is  so  obscure  in  outline  as  Hosea.  He  has 
pauses  and  divisions,  but  they  are  little  discernible.  The  bur- 
den of  each  separate  strophe  closely  resembles  that  of  the 
others,  though  the  illustrations  and  expressions  may  be  differe'' 
In  all  of  them  there  is  an  intermingling  of  rebuke  and  appeal, 
of  pity  and  indignation,  of  despair  and  hope.  Every  observer 
has  noticed  this  almost  incoherent  character  of  his  style,  and 
the  tragic  pathos  by  which  it  is  marked.  "  Com/naticus  est  in 
genere  dicendi^''  says  Jerome,  "et  quasi  per  sententias  loquens," 
in  other  words,  his  sentences  are  short  and  broken,  and,  so  to 
speak,  quivering.  He  is  rapid,  ejaculatory,  epigrammatic,  "a 
man  of  emotion  rather  than  of  logic,   a  poet  rather  than    a 


THE  PROPHECY  OF   HOSEA.  83 

preacher."  Bishop  Lowth  compares  his  separate  poems  to 
scattered  leaves  of  the  Sibyl.  "  Each  verse,"  says  Dr.  Pusey, 
"  forms  a  whole  for  itself,  like  one  heavy  toll  in  a  funeral  knell. 
The  characteristic  of  his  poetic  oratory  is  lyrical."  "  Ex- 
haustless  is  the  sorrow,"  says  Ewald,  "  endless  the  grief  where- 
ever  his  mind  turns,  and  ever  and  anon  the  tossing,  restless 
discourse  begins  again,  like  the  wild  cry  of  an  anguish  which 
can  hardly  be  mastered."  "  Parallelism,"  says  Canon  Cheyne, 
"  which  is  elsewhere  so  prominent  in  poetical  and  rhetorical 
language^  and  which  is  often  so  great  a  help  to  the  interpreter, 
is  here  but  feebly  represented.  Hosea's  rhythm  is  the  artless 
rhythm  of  sobs  and  sighs."  '  His  style  is  to  the  poetry  of  other 
prophets  what  that  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  is  to  the 
calmer  style  of  St.  Paul's  other  letters. 

He  had  been  influenced  in  all  probability  by  the  Book  of 
Amos,^  as  well  as  by  the  Song  of  Songs. ^  His  similes  are 
largely  drawn  from  nature— from  the  lion  (v.  14  ;  xiii.  7),  the 
panther  (xiii.  7),  the  bear  (xiii.  8),  the  dove  (xi.  11),  the  fluttering 
moth  (v.  12),  the  lily  (xiv.  5),  the  fir-trees  of  Lebanon  (xiv.  8), 
the  latter  rain  (vi.  3),  the  evening  dew  (xiv.  5).  With  the 
history  of  Israel  in  its  broad  outlines  he  was  well  acquainted. 
He  alludes  to  Abraham  (i.  10),  the  story  of  Jacob  (xii.  3,  4,  12  ; 
xiii.  15),  with  particulars  unknown  to  the  writer  of  Genesis  ;  to 
the  destruction  of  Admah  and  Zeboim  (xi.  8),  to  the  Exodus 
(ii.  15,  xi.  I  ;  xii.  9),  to  the  wanderings  in  the  wilderness  (ii.  3  ; 
xiii.  5)  ;  to  the  valley  of  Achor  in  which  Achan  perished  (ii.  15), 
to  the  sin  of  Israel  in  following  Baal-Peor  (ix.  10),  to  the 
shocking  atrocity  committed  at  Gibeah  (ix.  9  ;  x.  9),  and  to 
the  choice  of  Saul  as  king  (xiii.  10,  ii).'*  That  he  had  read  the 
Pentateuch   as   we  have  it  cannot  be  proved,  nor  can    it    be 

.  •  In  Hosea  the  parallelism  is  neither  regular  nor  continuous,  as  is  ob- 
served by  Dr.  W.  Robertson  Smith.  Renan  says  ("Hist,  du  peuple 
d'Israel,"  ii.  421) :  "  Le  style  de  ces  morceaux  n'^tait  ni  celui  du  Sir  ni  celui 
du  Masai,  encore  moins  la  prose  ordinaire.  C'etait  quelque  chose  de  sonore 
et  de  cadenc^,  des  phrases  rhythmees,  sans  paralleHsme  rigoreux,  niais  avec 
des  retomb(5es  piiriodiqiies,  des  series  d'iniages  vives,  frappani  a  coups 
redoubles. " 

^  Compare  .'\mos  i.  2,  4,  5  ;  v.  5  with  Hos.  xi.  10  ;  viii.  14;  iv.  15  ;  x. 
5,  8,  &c.  Also  compare  Hos.  iv.  3  with  Amos  v.  16  ;  viii.  8  ;  Hos.  viii.  13, 
14  with  Amos  v.  22  ;  viii.  7  ;  ii.  5.  3  xiv.  6-9. 

•♦  On  the  allusions  of  Hosea  to  events  recorded  in  the  Pt-ntateucii,  sec 
Curtis's  "  Levitical  Priests."  175-181. 


04  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

entirely  disproved.  If  he  was  acquainted  with  its  strict 
monotheism,  it  is  a  matter  for  surprise  that  in  iii.  4  he 
seems  to  reckon  among  religious  privileges  the  pillars  {ma- 
tscbflth),  and  a  plated  image  (if  that  be  there  the  meaning  of 
"  ephod  "),'  and  the  teraphim,  which  were  a  kind  of  Lares  and 
Penates  in  the  form  of  likenesses  of  ancestors  and  household 
gods.* 

The  expressions  of  Hosea  have  in  them  a  certain  penetrative 
quality  which  gave  them  a  permanent  influence  over  subsequent 
writers.  Isaiah  (i.  23)  borrowed  from  him  at  least  one  parono- 
masia— the  play  of  words  between  sari  in  "  princes,"  and  sorerim 
"  revolters  "  (ix.  15)  ;  some  of  his  phrases  are  adopted  by  Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel,  and  Zechariah  ;  and  his  standing  metaphor  of 
Israel  as  the  spouse  or  bride  of  Jehovah  became  indigenous  in 
all  Hebrew  literature,  even  down  to  the  days  of  the  Rabbis. 

The  quotations  from,  and  allusions  to,  Hosea  in  the  New 
Testament  are  numerous  and  important. 

I.  First  and  foremost  of  these  stand  the  memorable  words, 
"For  I  desired  mercy  and  not  sacrifice"  (vi.  6).  Well  might 
our  Lord  say  to  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites,  "  Go  ye 
and  learn  what  that  meaneth."^  For  the  Hebrew  words  mean 
that  God  values  mercy — Khesed,  dutiful  love,  piety,  love  to  God 
and  to  man  shown  in  the  habit  of  the  life — far  more  than  rituals 
and  ceremonies,  and  all  forms  of  external  service.  Other  pro- 
phets insisted  on  the  same  great  truth,  to  a  nation  which,  in 
course  of  time,  was  eaten  up  with  empty  formalism.*  The  verse 
contains  the  secret  of  real  religion  as  opposed  to  futile  reli- 
gionism, and  therefore  our  Lord  quoted  it  twice  in  order  to  give 
to  it  His  most  emphatic  sanction.^ 

»  As  some  understand  it  to  be  in  Judg.  xvii.,  xviii ;  i  Sam.  xxi.  9  ;  xxiii. 
6  ;  XXX.  7,  8. 

*  See  the  writer's  article  on  "Teraphim"  in  Kitto's  "  Cyclopnedia  of  the 
Bible."  This  passage  7nay,  however,  imply  that  Israel  should  have  tto 
means  of  any  sort  of  religious  worship,  or  means  of  trying  to  ascertain  tlie 
will  of  heaven,  whether  legitimate  or  unlawful.  For  other  interesting 
allusions  of  Hosea  to  the  internal  condition  of  Israel  see  iii.  4  ;  viii.  12  ; 
X.  I  ;  xi.  2  ;  xii.  11  ;  xiii.  i. 

3  In  these  par.agraphs  I  have  made  much  use  of  the  excellent  introduction 
of  Canon  Cheyne  ("  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  "). 

4  Isa.  i.  11-20  ;  Micah  vi.  6-8  ;  Jer.  vii.  22,  23. 

5  Matt.  ix.  13  ;  xii.  7.  Cheyne  quotes  a  parallel  from  Beal's  texts  of 
the  Buddhist  canon  in  which  Buddha  is  made  to  say  that  if  a  man  lived  a 
hundred  years,  and  continually  offered  elephants  and  horses,  all  this  is  not 


THE  PROPHECY  OF   HOSEA.  85 

2.  St.  Paul,  in  Romans  ix.  25,  26,  makes  a  fine  application  of 
the  names,  Lo-Ruhamah  and  Lo-Ammi,  which  the  prophet 
gave  to  his  children  (i.  10  ;  ii.  i,  23)  to  which  St.  Peter  also 
makes  an  evident  allusion  (i  Pet.  ii.  10). ' 

3.  Our  Lord  also  refers  (Luke  xxiii.  30),  as  does  St.  John  in  the 
Apocalypse  (Rev.  vi.  16  ;  ix.  6)  to  Hosea's  powerful  metaphor 
of  terror,  "they  shall  say  to  the  mountain,  Cover  us,  and  to  the 
hills,  Fall  on  us  ''  (Hos.  x.  8). 

4.  St.  Matthew  applies  Hos.  xi.  i,  ''When  Israel  was  a  child 
then  I  loved  him,  and  called  my  son  out  of  Egypt,"  to  the 
return  of  Mary  and  Joseph  with  the  child  Jesus  to  Palestine 
after  their  flight  into  Egypt.  That  there  is  no  direct  or  con- 
scious p7'cdiction  m  Hosea's  words  is  obvious.  It  would  be 
absurd  to  quote  such  an  allusion  from  an  historic  retrospect  as 
though  it  could  for  a  moment  be  accepted  as  a  prophetic 
intimation.  It  belongs  not  to  prophecy,  but  to  typology  ; 
to  those  preordained  analogies  by  which  the  lives  of  indi- 
vidual saints  and  patriarchs  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
the  whole  life  of  Israel  as  a  nation,  were  typical  of  Him 
who  was  their  promised  Messiah.  Evidentially  valueless  it  is 
spiritually  significant. 

5.  One  more  New  Testament  quotation  from,  or  free  allusion 
to,  Hosea  occurs  in  the  grand  passage  of  St.  Paul,  on  the 
Resurrection  from  the  dead — 

"  O  death,  I  will  be  thy  plagues  ; 
O  grave,  I  will  be  thy  destruction."  * 

In  proceeding  to  examine  the  chapters  which  form  the  main 
divisions  of  Hosea's  prophecy,  we  shall  be  struck  with  the 
manner  in  which  they  pass  from  menaces  of  doom  to  promises 
of  mercy.  This  peculiarity  also  of  his  style  belongs  to  the  man 
himself  and  his  tragical  experience.  Meanwhile  let  us  notice 
that  "  in  this  intimate  and  oftentimes  absolutely  immediate 
blending  of  the  fire  of  Divine  righteousness  with  the  light  of 
eternal  love  we  find  the  proper  and  peculiar  focus  of  Hosea's 
spirit."  3     If  Amos   is   predominantly   the   preacher  of  God's 

equal  to  one  act  of  pure  love  in  saving  life.  The  truth  enunciated  is  not 
beyond  the  light  of  that  spirit  of  man,  which  is  the  candle  of  the  Lord. 

'  Compare  also  Hosea  ii.  23  with  Gal.  iv.  27. 

'  Hos.  xiii.  14  ;  i  Cor.  xv.  55. 

3  Umbreit.  Among  sp'-cial  commentaries  on  Hosea  may  be  mentioned 
those  of  Wunsche  (1868),  .Nowack  (i88o).  and  Cheyne  (1884). 


86  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

awfnlness  and  majesty,  it  is  the  ^lory  of  Hosea  to  be  the  early 
herald  of  God's  love. 

Let  us  now  follow  the  loose  divisions  so  far  as  they  can  be 
made  out.  They  will  at  least  serve  as  a  general  guide  to  the 
contents  and  meaning  of  this  difficult  prophet,  whose  brevity 
renders  his  meaning  frequently  obscure,  and  to  us  sometimes 
undecipherable. 

X.  Accusations  against  Israel  (iv.  1-19). 

Jehovah  has  a  contention  with  Israel  because  faithfulness  and 
love  and  knowled'^e  of  God  have  disappeared,  and  perjury,  lies, 
murder,  theft,  adultery,  and  violence  prevail.  Therefore  a 
universal  curse  shall  fall  on  the  land,  and  shall  involve  even 
the  prophet  and  the  priest  (iv.  1-5). 

And  the  priests  are  specially  guilty  since  the  people  are 
perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge,  and  the  priests  rather  encourage 
than  check  their  iniquity  (6-10). 

Idolatry  is  the  cause  of  this  moral  decadence.  Whoredom 
and  drunkenness  follow  the  worship  of  stocks  and  staves.  Such 
idolatry  of  nature-goddesses  is  a  mere  consecration  of  impurity. 
The  white  poplars  and  the  terebinths  dedicated  to  idols  over- 
shadow the  vileness  of  their  worshippers,  in  which  vileness  the 
old  are  even  more  guilty  than  the  young.  Therefore  let  Judah 
take  warning  that  she  too  does  not  fall  into  the  apostasies  of 
Gilgal  and  Beth-Aven  (11-15).' 

Israel  which  should  have  been  a  lamb  in  God's  pasture  has 
become  as  a  stubborn  cow.  All  ranks  are  drunken  and  shame- 
less, especially  the  "  shields,"  i.e.,  the  princes.  The  wind  shall 
sweep  away  both  them  and  their  sacrifices  (16-19). 

2.  Fresh  and  more  special  accusations  (v.  i-vi.  11). 

The  king,  the  priests,  and  the  princes  who  have  been  as  snares 
and  nets  on  the  high  places*  are  specially  warned  ;  and  Judah, 
whose  deeds  are  known  to  God  no  less  than  those  of  Israel 

(•-5)- 

Of  what  avail  are  mere  sacrifices  when  marred  by  treachery  ?  ^ 

'  Beth-Aven,  "  House  of  Sin  or  Vanity,"  no  longer  deserving  to  be  called 
Beth-El,  "  House  of  God."     Coinp.  Amos  v.  5. 

^  Mizpah  on  the  east,  and  Tabor  on  the  west  of  Jordan,  are  mentioned 
as  two  special  strongholds. 

3  In  V.  7  the  phrase  "  now  shall  a  month  "  (or  "  the  new  moon")  devour 
them  "with  ilurir  portions,"  is  obscure.  It  may  allude  to  idolatrous  pro- 
fanaliun  ul  the  pow  moons. 


THE   PROPHECY   OF   HOSEA.  8/ 

Blow  a  trumpet-note  of  alarm  to  Ephraim  and  to  Judah  because  j 
they  remove  the  landmarks  between  right  and  wrong  (6-10).'     ' 

And  while  they  continue  to  worship  Asherahs — mere  wooden 
posts — corruption  inevitably  continues  to  work.  They  try  to 
avert  it  by  appealing  to  the  warlike  king  of  Assyria  to  help 
them.^  In  vain.  God  should  rend  them  like  a  lion,^  till  in  their 
agony  they  returned  to  Him  (11-15). 

Then  the  people  will  utter  a  cry  of  penitence  to  Jehovah  for 
His  mercy  !  But  since  their  repentance  is  evanescent  as  the 
morning  dew,  God  must  deal  with  them  by  His  prophets  and 
the  judgments  which  follow  their  words  (vi.  1-5).* 

For  what  God  requires  is  mercy,  not  sacrifice  ;  knowledge  of 
Him,  not  burnt-offerings.  "But  they,  like  Adam,  have  trans- 
gressed the  covenant."  ^  Of  what  use  is  external  service  while 
the  streets  of  Gilead  are  foot-tracked  with  blood,  and  the  priests 
act  as  brigands  on  the  road  to  Sichem  ?  ^  Ephraim  is  defiled  and 
has  infected  Judah  (6-1 1), 

3.  The  Punishment  (vii.  i-ix.  9). 

Does  Ephraim  think  that  God  is  blind  to,  or  oblivious  of,  his 
guilt .''  And  that,  too,  when  scenes  so  shameful  could  be 
enacted  as  a  drunken  king  murdered  by  the  subjects  who  had 

■  Judah  is  referred  to  with  unusual  frequency  in  these  two  chapters. 
"  After  thee,  O  Benjamin  "  (v.  8  ;  comp.  Judg.  v.  14),  seems  to  mean  "  Look 
behind  thee!"  or,  "the  enemy  is  behind  thee."  Hosea's  references  to 
Jerusalem  are  distant  and  delicate. 

'  "  They  sent  to  King  Jareb,"  i.e.,  to  "  King  Combat"  (or  possibly  "  to 
the  king  that  shall  plead;"  comp.  Judg.  vi.  32),  not  as  in  A.V.,  "to  the 
king  ^  Jareb."  There  is  no  such  name  as  Jareb  among  the  kings  of 
Assyria,  but  the  name  "Combat"  represents  the  ideal  of  them  all.  The 
special  allusion  is  perhaps  to  Siialmaneser  III.  (see  note  on  x.  14),  or  to 
Assur-dan-ilu,  or  to  Pul  (Tiglath-Pileser),  2  Kings  xv.  19.  Neither  Schrader 
("Cuneiform  Inscriptions"),  Rawlinson,  nor  any  other  authority  can  form  a 
certain  conclusion  on  the  subject. 

3  See  G.  Smith,  "Assyr.  Eponym  Canon,"  125,  for  Sargon's  description 
of  the  capture  of  Samaria.     He  claims  to  have  taken  27,290  captives. 

*  vi.  2,  "  Aiter  two  days  he  will  revive  us  ;  in  the  third  day  he  will  raise 
us  up,"  is  a  proverbial  expression. 

5  This  seems  to  be  the  true  rendering  of  vi.  7,  and  gives  us  a  very  inte- 
resting allusion.     Comp.  Job  xxxi.  33. 

*  If  Gilead  means  Ramoth-Gilead,  the  fact  that  it  was  a  "  city  of  refuge  " 
(Deut.  iv.  43)  adds  tcWhe  horror.  See  Ellicott's  Commentary,  ad  loc.  The 
Gileadites  wi  re  famed  for  deeds  of  blood  (see  2  Kings  xv.  25,  where  fifty  of 
them  aid  Pekali  in  the  murder  of  Pekahiah). 


88  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

fostered  his  degradation  ?  This  was  why  there  had  been  such 
a  massacre  of  kings  (vii.  1-7).' 

And  the  external  state  of  the  kingdom  is  as  wretched  as  the 
internal.  The  nation  was  fluttering  like  a  senseless  dove,  now 
towards  Egypt,  now  towards  Assyria."  God  had  made  them 
strong  of  old  ;  He  was  still  ready  to  redeem  them,  but  they 
started  aside  like  a  broken  bow.  Therefore  their  princes  should 
fall  by  the  sword  (vii.  8-16). 

So  then — the  trumpet  to  the  lips  and  proclaim  the  doom  of 
a  kingdom  founded  in  rebellion  and  devoted  to  mere  calf-wor- 
ship !  3  They  have  sown  the  wind,  they  shall  reap  the  whirl- 
wind, and  their  calf  shall  be  broken  to  pieces  (viii.  1-7). 

Neglecting  the  words  of  prophets,  seeking  for  foreign  and 
idolatrous  alliances,  falling  into  brutal  customs — such  as  eating 
the  raw  flesh  of  the  sacrifices  — they  shall  go  back  into  Egypt ! 
Their  history  shall  be  reversed  and  rolled  back  to  its  primitive 
origin  in  a  degraded  serfdom.*  Vain  their  fortresses  and  cities — 
they  shall  be  burnt,  and  those  of  Judah  also  (9-1 4)  .s 

They  may  rejoice  in  their  heathenish  harvest  festivals,  but 
they  shall  be  exiles  in  the  unclean  lands  of  Egypt  and  Assyria, 
they  shall  be  buried  in  Memphis.*  They  drive  their  prophets 
into  madness,  and  lie  in  wait  for  them.^     Their  state  is  as  hor- 

'  This  is  a  passage  of  exceptional  energy.  See  supra.  In  the  history  of 
Israel,  Nadab,  lilali,  Zimri,  Tibni,  Jehoram,  Zachariah,  Slialliim,  Pckaliiah, 
Pekah,  were  all  murdered,  and  as  Dr.  Pusey  observes,  except  in  the  House 
of  Oniri,  all  the  kings  of  Israel  either  left  no  sons  or  left  them  to  be  slain. 

*  Tiiis  describes  the  wavering  policy  of  King  Hoshea  and  his  advisers. 
He  became  king  after  the  murder  of  Pekah  by  bribing  the  Assyrians,  and 
after  Tiglath-Pileser's  death  he  intrigued  with  Egypt  (2  Kings  xvii.  4). 

3  In  viii.  5,  '*  Thy  calf,  O  Samaria,  hath  cast  thee  off,"  is  a  doubtful  ren- 
dering. The  "tlice"  is  absent  from  the  Hebrew.  The  R.V.  has  "He 
hTth  cast  off  thy  calf,  O  Sam.aria."  The  "  them  "  in  the  next  clause  refers 
to  the  two  calves. 

*  viii.  12,  "  I  have  written  to  him  the  great  things  of  my  Law,"  lias  been 
quoted  in  proof  of  the  ancientness  of  parts  of  the  Pentateuch.  But  the 
translation  is  not  certain.  The  R.V.  lias,  "  t/ioiijt^h  I  wrote  for  liim."  v. 
OrcUi,  "  Mochte  ich  ihin  eine  Unzahl  meiner  Gesctze  aufschreihen." 

5  Sennacherib  boasts  to  have  taken  forty-six  of  Hezekiah's  fenced  cities, 
some  of  which  had  been  built  by  Uzziah  (2  Chron.  xxvi.  10)  and  Jolh.im 
(Ibid,  xxvii.  4).  He  says,  "  I  attacked  them  with  fire,  with  carnage,  with 
fightings,  with  my  engines  of  war.     1  took  them,  I  oceu|.>led  them." 

'  Probably  many  exiles  from  the  Northern  Kingdom^cd  to  I'^gyi)!  (contp. 
xi.  11).  thniigh  there  was  no  real  I^gyplian  caplh'ily  (see  xi.  5). 

J    liif  meaning  lb  uncei lam,  but  comp.  2  Kings  IX.  ii,  Jer.  xxix.  26.     The 


THE  PROPHECY   OF   HOSEA.  89 

rible  as  in  the  old  vile  guilty  days  of  Gibeah.  Therefore  nothing 
is  before  them  but  gloom  and  desolation  (ix.  1-9). 

4.  Mingled  Retrospect,  Denunciation,  and  Conso- 
lation (ix.  lo-xi.  11). 

The  day  had  been  when  Israel  was  lovely  and  delight- 
some as  grapes  in  the  wilderness,  as  figs  early  ripe.  Yet  even 
in  early  days  they  fell  away  to  Baal-Peor  and  Astarte.  The 
curse  of  sterility  shall  fall  upon  them,'  and  perhaps  it  is  for  this 
that  the  prophet  should  pray.  But  God's  answer  is  that  their 
idolatry  at  Gilgal  and  the  crimes  of  their  princes  are  such  that 
God  cannot  but  hate  them.  There  is  a  canker  at  the  root  of 
their  natural  life.  They  must  be  in  part  exterminated,  in  part 
wanderers  among  the  nations  (ix.  10-17). 

The  apostasy  of  Israel  did  but  deepen  with  his  prosperity, 
and  has  ended  in  anarchy  and  godlessness.  Therefore  retribu- 
tion shall  grow  rank  as  a  weed  in  their  furrows.  They  and 
their  calf-idols  shall  come  to  shame  and  be  carried  to  "  King 
Combat"  (Jareb)  of  Assyria.  Their  people  and  priests  shall 
mourn.^  Their  king  shall  disappear  like  foam  upon  the  water  ;3 
their  sanctuary  shall  be  shattered,  and  thorn  and  thistle  shall 
grow  upon  their  altars,  till  in  their  anguish  they  call  on  the 
mountains  to  cover  them,  and  on  the  hills  to  fall  on  them  (x. 
1-8). 

From  the  days  of  Gibeah  has  Israel  sinned,  and  therefore 
both  Ephraim  and  Judah  shall  be  treated  as  stubborn  heifers, 
and  made  to  bear  the  yoke.*  Yet  even  now  a  better  seedtime 
might  produce  a  better  harvest,  and  if  they  sought  the  Lord  He 
would  even  yet  rain  righteousness  upon  them.  But  since  they 
have  plowed  wickedness  they  must  reap  oppression  ;  the  more 
they  trusted  in  chariots  and  warriors,  the  roar  of  an  advancing 

words  (ver.  8),  "Ephraim  was  a  watchman  with  my  God"  (R.V.)  may 
mean  "  watcheth  against  God"  (Ibid,  marg.)  ;  or  reading  am  for  im, 
''  Ephraim,  the  people  of  my  God,  is  a  Her  in  wait." 

■  Though  "  Ephraim "  means  "fruitful,"  or  perhaps  "double  fruitful- 
ness."     See  Gen.  xli.  52,  xlviii.  19,  xlix.  25  ;  Deut.  xxxiii.  17. 

^  Kemarim  implying  that  the  calf-priests  were  idol-priests. 

3  The  word  rendered  "foam"  may  mean  "bubble"  or  "chip."  The 
historic  allusion  seems  to  imply  that  Hoshea  was  summoned  into  the  pre- 
sence of  Shalmaneser  III.  in  Damascus,  and  never  heard  of  again. 

■f  In  X.  10,  for  "  the  people  shall  be  gathered  against  them,  when  they 
shall  bind  themselves  in  their  two  furrows"  (A.V.),  read  as  in  the  marg. 
and  R.V.,  "  when  they  are  yoked  to  their  two  transgressions,"  i.e.,  the  two 
calves. 


90  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

army  should  be  heard,  and  their  fortresses  be  shattered  as  when 
Shahnan  stormed  Hetharbel,  and  dashed  in  pieces  mothers  with 
their  children.  Such,  too,  shoulti  be  the  fate  of  Bethel,  and 
l)efore  the  dawn  was  red  the  king  of  Israel  should  perish  (x. 
9-15)-' 

Again  the  prophet  reverts  to  the  days  of  Israel's  youth  in 
tender  retrospect.  How  had  God  loved  Israel  in  his  youth 
when  He  called  him  out  of  Egypt  !  °  But  they  had  neglected 
the  call  of  the  prophets  and  served  the  Baalim,  though  God 
had  taught  Ephraim  to  walk,  and  drawn  him  with  cords  of 
love.  He  would  not  return  to  God,  therefore  he  should  return 
to  Egypt  and  be  a  vassal  to  the  king  of  Assyria.  The  sword 
should  whirl  in  his  cities  and  destroy  his  defences  ;  for  though 
called  to  incline  to  God,  he  declined  from  God  ;  and  bidden  to 
strive  upwards,  he  strove  not  upwards  (xi.  1-7). 

Thus  for  many  strophes,  with  but  few  gleams  of  alleviation,  the 
prophet  has  filled  his  message  with  gloom  and  menace.  It  might 
well  seem  as  if  the  fiat  pronounced  was  deliberate  and  irrevocable. 
Here  and  there  a  word  of  promise  and  of  tenderness  has  been 
incidentally  implied,  but  on  the  whole  it  has  been  declared  that 
God  cannot  alter  His  decree  of  annihilation  or  hopeless  exile 
against  a  people  so  thankless  and  so  guilty.  Yet  the  secret  of 
(iod's  ultimate  dealings  is  in  His  love,  not  in  His  anger.  Such 
ove  cannot  come  to  nothing  like  a  river  lost  in  mud  and  sand. 
■'  Amidst  the  ashes  of  destroyed  prejudices,  of  vanquished  sins, 
there  glimmers  in  secrecy  the  eternal  love,  and  the  more  the 
evil  presentiment  of  annihilation  for  this  community  makes 
itself  felt,  with  the  greater  necessity  and  energy  must  this  love 
revolt  from  it,  since  the  community  had  been  destined  for  better 
things.  Thus  in  the  fifth  and  last  strophe  the  direct  antithesis 
forces  itself  forward,  and  with  inexpressible  ardour  the  bright 
side  of  the  Divine  intention  shines  forth,  scattering  all  that  is 
still  dark  from  tiie  previous  gloomy  forebodings.  The  true 
community  shall  NOT  be  annihilated  by  any  such  chastisements, 
but  purified  and  perfected.     Jehovah's  chastisements  present 

'  In  ver.  15  the  meaning  perhaps  is,  as  in  the  niarg.  of  the  R.V.,  "  So 
shall  it  be  done  unto  you  at  Bet)ifl." 

*  St.  Matthew  applies  these  words  in  ii.  15,  "not,"  as  Dr.  Pusey  says, 
"  to  prove  anything,  but  to  point  out  the  relation  of  God's  former  dealings 
to  the  latter,  the  beginning  and  the  close,  what  relates  to  the  body  and  what 
relates  to  the  head." 


THE   PROPHECY   OF    HOSEA.  9I 

externally  the  appearance  of  anger  and  destruction,  but  within 
they  are  nothing  but  love  and  salvation."  ' 

"  How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim  ? 
How  shall  I  surrender  thee,  Israel? 
How  shall  I  make  thee  as  Adniah  ? 
How  shall  I  treat  thee  as  Zeboim  ? 
Mine  heart  is  turned  within  me  ; 
I  am  wholly  filled  with  compassions  ! 
I  will  not  execute  the  fierceness  of  mine  anger  ; 
I  will  not  again  destroy  Ephraim. 
For  I  am  God  and  not  man. 
The  Holy  One  in  the  midst  of  thee  ! 
I  will  not  come  to  exterminate  ! 

They  shall  come  after  Jehovah  as  after  a  lion  that  roars  ; 
For  he  shall  roar,  and  his  sons  shall  come  hurrying  from  the  west 
They  shall  come  hurrying  as  a  bird  out  of  Egypt, 
And  as  a  dove  out  of  the  land  of  Assvria  ; 
And  I  will  cause  them  to  dwell  in  their  houses,  saith  the  Lord."— xi.  8-it. 

To  our  unintelligent  way  of  taking  all  the  fine  imaginative 
poetry  and  burning  rhetoric  of  Scripture  aupiedde  la  lettre,  and  of 
making  formal  predictions  and  rigid  doctrinesout  of  everything  - 
even  of  the  varying  moods  and  throbbings  of  a  soul  full  of  pas- 
sionate love  and  passionate  anguish  —  this  interpolation  of  a 
promise  rich  with  mercy  and  blessing  in  the  very  midst  of 
decrees  of  absolute  reprobation  might  well  seem  illogical.  Ac- 
cordingly all  sorts  of  absurd  and  casuistical  ways  of  "recon- 
ciling" this  passage  with  those  that  have  gone  before  have  been 
adopted  by  commentators.  The  menaces  have  been  applied  to 
the  Israelites,  the  promises  to  the  Christian  Church  in  a  manner 
perfectly  wooden  and  partly  false.  To  Hosea  himself,  to  those 
whom  he  addressed,  it  would  have  been  no  real  comfort  but 
only  an  illusory  and  miserable  semblance  of  comfort  to  be  told 
that  though  they  should  utterly  perish  in  the  desolating  storm 
of  Assyrian  invasions,  yet,  centuries  and  millenniums  after- 
wards, others  —  Gentiles  and  mixed  peoples  in  no  sense 
descended  from  them — should  live  peaceably  in  their  old 
homes.  The  Jews  may  well  complain,  with  a  somewhat  bitter 
smile,  of  the  self-satisfied  infallibility  of  error  which  applies 
every  denunciation  and  reproach  to  their  lost  and  scattered 
nationality,  and  every  word  of  hope  and  healing  to  their  Gentile 
oppressors.  To  tell  the  children  of  the  northern  tribes  that  God 
'  Ewald,  "  Prophets,"  i.  279,  Eng.  tr. 


92  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

dearly  loved  them,  and  repented  of  His  anger  towards  them, 
and  was  overwhelmed  by  compassion  for  them,  but  that  this 
would  be  shown  by  sweeping  them  into  hopeless  c.iptivity  and 
letting  them  disappear  altogether  and  be  obliterated  in  foreign 
and  heathen  lands,  and  by  bringing  hostile  aliens  into  their  land 
many  centuries  later  to  be  inheritors  of  their  privileges — this 
would  have  been  a  mockery  of  mockeries.  Supposing  that  a 
prophet  were  to  arise  in  England  and  roll  over  our  heads  the 
storm  of  doom,  and  to  prophesy  that  Germans  should  trample 
on  our  fields,  or  Frenchmen  rule  in  our  cities— that  our  homes 
should  be  laid  waste,  and  our  minsters  dashed  into  shards,  and 
our  fleets  sunk,  and  our  people  scattered  all  over  the  world  to 
be  lost  in  the  misery  of  exile  among  alien  nations  ;  and  then, 
with  a  voice  which  broke  with  tenderness,  were  to  announce  that, 
after  all,  this  should  not  be  so,  but  that  God  loved  us  deeply  and 
would  have  pity  upon  us,  and  that  in  spite  of  everything  which 
he  had  said  there  should  be  peace  and  prosperity  for  England 
and  her  sons;  — should  we  not  justly  regard  him  as  an  idle  babbler 
so  far  as  any  comfort  to  us  was  concerned,  if  it  were  explained 
that  his  words  meant  no  more  than  that  in  a.d.  3000,  or  later, 
other  peoples  who  now  hated  us,  or  of  whose  very  names  we 
were  ignorant,  should  flourish  in  the  place  of  an  obliterated 
English  nationality  ?  If  any  are  still  content  with  the  hollow 
way  in  which  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  in  general,  and 
the  prophets  in  particular,have  been  treated,  their  minds  must  be 
steeped  in  hopeless  traditionalism.  Perhaps  one  or  two  cen- 
turies hence  it  may  at  last  be  seen  that  our  commentaries  are 
filled  with  the  rubbish  of  false  conventionality,  and  that  the  first 
thing  to  be  done  by  those  whose  hearts  are  open  to  the  truth  is 
to  fling  those  idols  of  untrue  exegesis  to  the  moles  and  the 
bats,  and  go  to  the  Scriptures  themselves,  and  to  scholars  who 
love  truths  better  than  ecclesiastical  popularity,  to  see  what  they 
really  say  and  really  mean. 

For  out  of  such  opposing  utterances — "  Israel  shall  be  exter- 
minated," "Israel  shall  not  be  exterminated";  "Israel  shall 
be  scattered  in  all  lands,"  "  Israel  shall  again  dwell  in  his  own 
land,'"  we  cannot  with  any  sincerity  make  either  deiiniie  pre- 
dictions or  exact  doctrines.  All  that  we  are  witnessing  is  the 
to-and-fro  contending  currents  of  a  human  soul,  dilated  and 

'  See  ix.  3,  12,  17  ;  xiii.  3,  16  ;  as  compared  with  xiv.  4-7.  v.  Orelli 
says  (p.  200),  "  SchrotTe  Antithesen  reihcn  sich  uHvcrmitteU  an  eiuander. " 


THE  PROPHECY  OF   ROSEA.  93 

inspired  by  love  of  God,  and  rising  out  of  the  pessimism 
naturally  created  by  the  contemplation  of  guilt  and  retribution, 
into  that  holy  optimism  which  recognizes,  in  spite  of  all,  that  God 
doeth  ail  things  well.  Israel  perished;  Israel  was  not  restored.  In 
any  literal  sense  it  is  not  possible  that  its  lost  tribes  ever  should 
be  restored  ;  nor  would  it  have  been  the  smallest  satisfaction 
to  Hosea  and  his  contemporaries  if,  perhaps  ten  thousand  years 
after  they  had  mouldered  into  dust,  their  infinitely  and  indis- 
tinguishably  mixed  descendants  could  be  brought  back  to  a 
land  inferior  in  most  respects  to  many  other  lands.  But  what 
the  prophet  had  grace  to  see  was  the  certainty  that  God  is 
amid  all  confusions  a  God  of  order,  amid  all  contradictions 
a  God  of  verity,  amid  all  judgments  a  God  of  love.  It  is 
this  element  of  hope  which  gives  to  the  writings  of  the 
prophets  their  highest  value,  for  it  is  a  recognition  of  the 
eternal  principle  of  the  government  of  the  world.  And 
this  golden  close  of  the  denunciations,  this  opening  even 
in  the  valley  of  Achor  a  door  of  hope,  this  pointing  to  the 
resplendent  arc  of  the  rainbow  of  mercy  amid  the  darkest 
bursts  of  storm,  is  the  most  marked  characteristic  not  of  Hosea 
only,  but  of  Joel,  Amos,  Isaiah,  Micah,  and  all  the  greatest 
of  the  true  prophets.  They  saw,  as  clearly  as  Goethe  did,  that 
in  the  nature  of  things  there  are  irreconcilable  antinomies — that 
is,  laws  apparently  conflicting,  apparently  contradictory,  which 
are  equally  true,  though  by  us  irreconcilable,  because  their 
ultimate  unity  and  reconciliation  runs  up  into  regions  of  infini- 
tude beyond  our  feeble  grasp. 

Accordingly  the  book  closes  with  promises  yet  more  unmis- 
takable, with  hopes  yet  more  glowing  ;  and  though  in  the  three 
last  chapters  we  still  find  gloom  and  threats  of  terrible  and 
even  overwhelming  retribution,  the  storm  ends  in  a  joyous 
calm.  It  almost  seems  as  if  it  were  specially  needful  to  estab- 
lish the  mournful  side  of  the  truth,  only  that  after  it  had  been 
thus  finally  established  it  might  be  utterly  abandoned.'  But 
the  apparent  contradiction  is,  as  we  have  seen,  nothing  but 
the  separate  statement  of  complemental  truths. 

5.  Final  retrospect  and  conclusion  (xi.  12-xiv.). 

I.    IVoj'ldliness. — Ephraim   is   deceitful,  Judah    unsteadfast.^ 

•  Ewald,  p.  298. 

'  The  rendering,  both  of  the  A.  V.  and  the  R.  V.  here,  as  in  some 
other  places,  is  practically  nonsense.     How  can  Hosea  say,   "Judah  yet 


94  THE   MINOR   PROPHKTS. 

Epliraini  pursues  the  wind,  hunts  the  storm,  increases  lies  an 
violence,  makes  covenants  with  Assyria,  and  carries  oil  as  a 
present  to  Egypt.  He  must  be  punished,  and  Judah  also,  as 
untrue  to  the  ideal  of  his  father  Jacob,  who  once  in  his  power 
took  his  brother  by  the  heel,  and  conquered  the  wrestling  Angel 
with  prayer  and  supplication.  God  might  still,  as  of  old,  speak 
with  Israel  at  Bethel  if  he  would  return  to  God  (xi.  i2-xii.  6). 

2.  Dishonesty. — Ephraim  is  a  Canaanite,  and  has  grown  rich 
by  dishonesty,'  not  believing  that  such  gain  of  riches  is  also 
gain  of  guilt.  They  shall  become  nomads  once  more  because 
they  have  despised  God's  revelations  by  His  prophets.  Gilead 
is  morally  nought,  and  shall  be  reduced  to  utter  nothingness. 
Their  Gilgal  altars  shall  become  ^i^^^j//////,  scattered  stone-heap« 
in  the  open  field.*  God  of  old  preserved  Jacob  and  Mo^es  in 
perils,  but  Ephraim  has  forsaken  God,  and  must  bear  the 
recompense  of  his  apostasy  (xii.  7-14). 

3.  Idolatry. — There  is  a  worse  sin  than  deceit  and  dishonest 
gain — it  is  idolatry. ^  Ephraim  worships  molten  images  and 
calves.  He  shall  be  swept  away  like  the  morning  cloud,  like 
the  early  dew,  like  the  chaff  scattered  by  the  whirlwind,  like 
rising  smoke.  And  what  ingratitude  to  Him  who  had  saved 
them  from  the  wilderness,  and  granted  them  the  prosperity  which 
they  abused  !  Therefore  God  would  be  to  them  as  a  lion,  or 
a  panther,  or  a  bear  bereaved  of  her  whelps  :  He  would  rend 
their  very  heart  (xiii.  1-8). 

4.  Distrust  in  Cod. — The  prophet  now  declares  in  broken 
grammar,  as  though  his  voice  were  interrupted  by  sobs,  that 
unfaithfulness  to  God  has  been  Israel's  destruction,-"  and  there- 

ruleth  with  God,  and  is  faithful  with  the  Holy  Orve,"  when  immediately 
iifter  (xii.  2)  Judah's  utter  unfaithfulness  is  denounced  ?  Clearly  the  ren- 
dering should  be  (as  in  the  margin)  : 

"  Also  Judah  is  yet  unsteadfast  with  God, 
And  with  the  Holy  One  who  is  faithful." 

xi.  12  should  be  read  as  xii.  i  as  in  the  Hebrew. 
»  Comp.  Amos  ii.  6,  viii.  5  ;  Micah  vi.  10. 

*  This  took  place  in  the  invasion  of  Tiglath-Pileser  H.  (2  Kings  xv.  29; 
I  Chron.  v.  26). 

3  xiii.  I  is  obscure.  The  rendering  maybe,  "When  Ephraim  spake" 
(in  the  rebellion  against  Rehoboam)  "  there  was  trembling." 

*  The  beautiful  rendering  (xiii.  9),  "O  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed 
thyself,  but  in  Me  is  thy  help,"  is  unfortunately  erroneous.  It  should  be. 
"O  Israel,  it  hath  destroyed  thee,  that  against  Me,  against  thy  help  .  .  .  I " 


THE   PROPHECY   OF    ROSEA.  95 

fore  the  doom  must  be  pronounced  upon  him.  His  kings  had 
proved  of  no  avail.  Yet  the  troubles  which  shall  come  upon 
him  mighty  but  for  his  unwisdom,  be  but  the  promise  of  a  new 
birth.  And,  in  spite  of  all,  the  prophet  makes  Jehovah  utter 
His  irrevocable  promise  : 

"  I  will  ransom  thee  from  the  power  of  the  grave  ; 
I  will  redeem  thee  from  death: 
Where  are  thy  plagues,  O  death  ? 
Where  thy  pestilence,  O  Sheol  ?  "  ' 

And  yet  God  cannot  repent  of  the  judgment  which  has  been 
passed  upon  him.  Though  his  name  means  "  fruitfulness,"  a 
desert  wind — the  simoom  of  Assyria — shall  parch  him  up.^ 
Samaria  shall  be  desolate  ;  the  infants  shall  be  dashed  to 
pieces  ;  the  women  with  child  shall  be  ripped  up  ! 

Most  characteristic  of  the  prophet  and  his  entangled  method 
and  mingled  despair  and  hopefulness,  is  the  interpolation  of  a 
promise  of  triumphant  love  in  the  very  midst  of  a  menace  of 
the  ten-ific  ruin.  But,  in  the  last  strophe,  love  becomes  abso- 
lutely and  finally  victorious.  Already  the  sunlight  has  once  or 
twice  struggled  through  the  rifts  of  storm  (xi.  8-11  ;  xiii.  14), 
but  now  the  sun  chases  away  the  thunderclouds  altogether, 
and,  as  though  the  sweetness  of  the  theme  inspired  the 
prophet  with  lovelier  imagery  and  more  melodious  strains, 
he  passes  into  a  closing  utterance  of  flowing  music  (xiv.), 
which  takes  the  form  of  a  colloquy  between  repentant  Israel 
and  his  Lord.  First  the  prophet,  in"  words  of  extreme 
tenderness,  calls  on  his  people  to  turn  and  repent,  and 
abandon  all  hope  in  Assyria,  or  in  horses, ^  or  in  idols,  and  to 

(thou  hast  become  unfaithful).  The  figure  thus  explained  is  an  aposiopesis 
— a  sentence  which  the  speaker  leaves  unfinished  out  of  deep  emotion. 

^  It  is  thus  that  these  words  are  interpreted  by  the  LXX. ,  the  Targum, 
Symmachus,  the  Vulgate,  &c. ,  and  St.  Paul  seems  also  to  liave  understood 
them  as  a  gracious  promise.  But  as  the  next  verse  pronounces  a  terrible 
doom,  some  understand  them  as  part  of  the  doom,  and  render,  "Shall  I 
ransom  thee?  .  .  .  [No!]  Where  are  thy  plagues,  O  Death?  [Bring 
them  forth  !]  Where  is  thy  sting,  O  Sheol  ?  [Strike  these  reprobates  !] 
Relenting  is  hid  from  my  eyes."  In  either  supposition,  however,  "both 
the  prophet  and  St.  Paul  (i  Cor.  xv.  55)  summon  Death  and  Hell  to  come 
forth  and  do  their  worst." 

^  Besides  the  play  on  the  meaning  of  Ephraim  there  is  perhaps  another 
between  parah,  "  to  be  fruitful,"  And  pcre,  "  wild  ass  "  (comp.  viii.  9),  as 
Kashi  supposes.     See  the  note  in  "  Speaker's  Commentary,"  vi.  488. 

3  This  implies  a  reference  to  Egypt,  to  which  one  party  had  always 
trusted  as  a  counterpoise  to  Assyria.    Comp.  Deut.  xvii.  16 ;  i  Kin.-    ■ 


9^  THi:   MINOR    PROl'HETS. 

plead  for  forgiveness  with  God,  in  whom  the  fatherless  find 
mercy.  Then  Jehovah,  in  words  full  of  soft,  sweet  pictures, 
which  recall  the  style  and  melody  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  says: 

"  I  will  heal  their  backsliding  ; 
I  will  love  them  freely  ; 
For  Mine  anger  io  turned  away  from  him. 
1  will  be  as  the  night-mist  unto  Israel, 
He  shall  blossom  as  the  lily  : ' 
And  strike  his  roots  as  Lebanon. 
His  saplings  shall  spread, 
And  his  beauty  be  as  the  olive  tree, 
And  his  fragrance  as  Lebanon. 

Once  more  shall  those  dwelling  in  his  shadow  grow  wise, 
And  blossom  like  the  vine, 
Whose  renown  is  as  the  wine  of  Lebanon. 
Ephraim,  what  have  I  to  do  with  idols?* 
I  have  answered,  and  will  look  on  him." 

Ephraim  replies  : 

"  I  am  like  a  green  cypress." 

And  Jehovah  adds  : 

"  From  Me  is  thy  fruit  found." 

In  other  words,  Though  thy  name  be  derived  from  fruitfulness, 
yet  canst  thou  have  no  fruit  apart  from  Me.  In  which  lies  the 
same  thought  as  in  the  words  of  our  Lord,  "  I  am  the  true  vine 
...  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit,  of  itself,  except  it  abide 
in  the  vine,  so  neither  can  ye,  e.xcept  ye  abide  in  Me." 

With  that  word  of  gracious  promise  ends  the  colloquy  of  the 
penitent  nation  and  its  forgiving  Lord.  But  the  prophet  adds 
by  way  of  epilogue,  and  in  order  to  give  a  clue  to  the  antitheses 
of  his  varying  strain  : 

"  Who  is  wise  that  he  may  understand  this, 
Prudent  that  he  may  perceive  it  ? 
For  strait  are  the  ways  of  Jehovah, 
And  the  just  shall  walk  in  them  ; 
But  backsliders  stumble  therein." 

This  conclusion  might  almost  be  compared  to  the  last  lines  in 

'  Fliny,  "  H.  N."  xxi.  5,  "  Lilio  nihil  fecundius,  una  radice  saepe  quin- 
quagenos  emittente  bulbos." 

*  This  may  mean,  "Ephraim  shall  say,  '  What,"  "  &c.  ;  or,  "  Ephraim 
is,  'What  have  I  to  do  with  idols?'  "  or  again,  "  O  Ephraim,  what  have 
I  (Jehovah)  to  do  with  idols  ?  " 


THE   PROPHECY   OF    HOSEA.  97 

which  the  Greek  tragedians  point  the  central  moral  of  their 
trilogies.  The  lesson  which  the  prophet  would  impress  on  tlie 
minds  of  his  countrymen  is  the  truth  that  God  requires  obedi- 
ence rather  than  sacrifice,  and  to  hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams  ; 
that  God  loves  only  the  just  and  the  upright,  and  that  reli- 
gionism without  righteousness  is  a  worthless  sham. 

In  the  chapters  which  we  have  thus  briefly  analysed  in  such 
a  way  as  to  represent  their  central  and  continuous  significance, 
we  have  the  main  message  of  Hosea,  the  epitome  of  all  his 
prophetic  work.  It  is  now  time  to  revert  to  the  three  intro- 
ductory chapters.  They  give  us  the  secret  of  the  imagery  which 
colours  all  the  prophet's  language,  the  autobiographic  circum- 
stances which  kindled  within  his  heart  the  fire  o  prophecy,  and 
the  psychological  influences  which  determined  the  strange  play 
of  his  everchanging  moods. 

It  is  only  in  dim  outline,  and  with  deep  reticence,  that  Hosea 
reveals  to  us  the  story  of  his  domestic  agony  and  shame.  And 
he  does  so  because  the  story  was  necessary  to  show  us  how 
the  truth  had  been  brought  home  to  his  own  soul  that  mercy  is 
God's  chiefest  and  most  essential  attribute. 

"  I  will  not  execute  the  fierceness  of  My  anger, 
I  will  not  again  destroy  Israel, 
For  /  a7n  God  and  not  vian'.' 

What  hope  has  any  man — even  a  St.  Paul — what  hope  had  even 
our  Lord  Himself  before  the  harsh,  brutal,  selfish,  blundering 
tribunals  of  human  judgment .-"  What  chance  have  any  of 
God's  best  saints  had,  when  Priests  or  Inquisitors  were  their 
judges  ?  If  God  resembled  those  ecclesiastics  whose  main 
arguments  have  been  the  boot  and  the  rack,  the  thumbscrew 
and  the  gibbet,  the  torture-chamber  and  the  stake,  what  hope 
could  there  be  for  the  vast  majority  of  mankind  but  the  endless 
torments  of  everlasting  torture-chambers  and  an  everlasting  auto 
dafef  But  the  Indian  sage  was  right  who  said  that  God  could 
only  be  truly  described  by  the  words,  No!  No! — in  other 
words,  by  repudiating  half  the  ignoble  and  cruel  basenesses  which 
religious  teachers  have  imagined  respecting  Him.  Because  God 
is  God,  and  not  man  ;  God,  and  not  Pilate  or  Nero  ;  God,  and 
not  Arnold  of  Citeaux  or  Torquemada  ;  God,  and  not  the 
Pharisaic  elder  brother  of  the  parable  ;  God,  with  the  great 
compassionate  heart  of  unfathomable  tenderness — therefore,  in 
all  who  truly  love  and   know    Him    perfect    love    casteth   out 


98  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

fear,  for  fear  hath  torment.  God  is  the  Father  of  the  prodigal ; 
Christ  was  the  Friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.  Sin  means 
ruin  ;  nevertheless,  God  is  Love.     The  words 

••  I  will  not  execute  the  fierceness  of  Mine  anger. 
For  I  am  God,  and  not  man," 

might  stand  for  an  epitome  of  much  that  is  most  precious  in 
Holy  Writ.  The  orthodoxy  of  this  desolate  prophet  was  not 
the  orthodoxy  of  the  religious  teachers  of  his  day,  who,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  hated  him  ;  but  God's  orthodoxy  is  the  truth. 
And  the  first  and  third  chapters  of  Hosea,  which  are  in  prose 
and  not  in  rhythm,  tell  us  how  Hosea  had  learnt  the  lesson 
in  the  agony  of  a  blighted  life. 

His  story  was  this.  He  had  married  a  wife  whose  name, 
real  or  symbolical,  was  Gomer  bath  Diblaim.'  There  are  little 
touches  in  the  story  which  make  possible  the  fancy  of  the 
English  scholar,^  that  he  had  seen  her  first  in  the  wild  dances 
of  Ashtoreth,  "  the  wreath  on  her  dark  locks,  the  scarlet  over 
her  limbs,  the  jewels  on  her  arms,  and  anklets."  Perhaps  Hosea 
had  fondly  dreamed  that  he  might  save  this  beautiful  creature — 
save  her  from  all  the  temptations  by  which  she  was  surrounded 
— by  making  her  his  wife.  In  wedding  her  he  believed  himself 
to  have  obeyed  a  Divine  intimation,  of  which  he  may  have 
been  at  the  time  less  conscious  than  he  became  in  later  years. 
But  alas  !  from  the  first  she  had  proved  false  to  him. 
Even  if  he  tried  to  clasp  his  children  to  his  breast,  he  felt  an 
agonizing  doubt ;  and  though,  by  his  own  hearth,  they  might 
have  the  names  of  Ammi  and  Ruhamah,^  mentally  he  was 
forced  to  change  these  names  into  Lo-ammi  and  Lo-ruhamah — 
■'  not  my  people,"  and  "  not  beloved."  He  had  borne,  he  had 
forgiven,   he  had   hoped,   he    had   hidden   deep   in   his    own 

'  The  names  Gomer  bath  Diblaim  are  strange.  Jerome  explains  Gomer 
to  mean  "  consummate,"  i.e.,  in  lewdness.  Bath  Diblaim  means  "  daughter 
of  two  raisin-cakes,"  and  seems  to  be  alluded  to  in  iii.  i,  where  "  flagons  of 
wine  "  (A.  V.)  should  be  rendered  "  raisin-cakes,"  as  in  Isa.  xvi.  7. 

"  The  Dean  of  Wells,  in  "  Lazarus  and  other  Poems,"  see  Hos.  ii.  13. 

3  See  ii.  i.  He  called  the  eldest  son  lezreei — "seed,'' or  scattering  of 
fiod  " — partly  to  intimate  the  blood-guiltiness  of  the  savage  House  of  lehu 
at  Jezreil,  partly  to  imply  that  God  should  scatter  Israel  m  the  plain  of 
Jezreel,  and  partly  as  a  name  of  dubious  import  to  imply  his  domestic 
suspicions.  There  is  a  paronomasia  between  the  words  Jezreel  and  IsraeL 
Jezreel  was  capable  of  a  bad  (i.  4,  5)  and  of  a  good  sense  (ii.  22,  23). 


THE   PROPHECY   OF   HOSEA.  99 

heart  the  rankling  wound.  But  worse  followed.  Gomer 
bath  Diblaim — unmotherly  mother  and  unwomanly  woman 
— had  left  him.  She  had  left  him  for  another,  but  he 
loved  her  still.  And  then,  like  the  prodigal,  the  beautiful 
evil  woman  had  begun  to  sink  lower  and  lower  into  the  miry 
gulf  of  shame  and  retribution.  With  that  brutal  cruelty  which 
ever  lies  close  beside  selfish  passion,  her  paramour  had  dragged 
her  into  the  open  market-place,  and  sold  her  as  a  slave.  And 
when  none  other  would  pay  for  one  so  stained  and  miser- 
able even  a  slave's  lowest  price,  the  prophet  himself  had 
bought  her.  He  had  bought  her  to  take  her  back  again  to  his 
disgraced  and  desolate  home  : — not  to  be  a  wife  to  him — 
that  could  not  be ;  not  to  be  a  mother  to  Lo-ammi  and  Lo- 
ruhamah — that  could  not  be  ;  not,  as  in  the  days  of  her  light 
youth,  to  dance  in  gems  and  scarlet  under  the  twilight  tere- 
binths. No  !  but,  as  yet,  to  sit  alone  in  the  ruins  of  her  life  ; 
to  wail  away  her  days  in  solitude,  to  brood  over  bitter  memories 
beside  the  hearthstone  on  which  she  had  kindled  the  fires  of 
hell.  Safe,  yet  oh  how  wretched — bearing  the  punishment  of 
her  fall  in  the  outer  darkness  of  a  wasted  and  a  shipwrecked 
life ;  but  still  with  the  hope  in  the  prophet's  heart  that  she  could 
be  purified  from  her  sin  by  long  repentance,  all  her  stains 
washed  away  by  the  gracious  dew  of  tears  !  Because  he  loved 
her,  he  could  still  believe  in  that  day  of  penitence  ;  believe  with 
trembling  hope  that  she  could  yet  be  cleansed,  and  restored, 
and  saved.  To  her  he  might  have  said,  like  the  stainless  king 
in  the  Idylls — 

"  For  think  not,  the'  thou  would'st  not  love  thy  lord. 
Thy  lord  has  wholly  lost  his  love  for  thee, 
I  am  not  made  of  so  slight  elements. 
Yet  must  I  leave  thee,  woman,  to  thy  shame. 
Yet  think  not  that  I  come  to  urge  thy  crimes, 
I,  whose  vast  pity  almost  makes  me  die. 
Lo  !  I  forgive  thee,  as  Eternal  God 
Forgives.     Do  thou  for  thine  own  soul  the  rest. 
Let  no  man  dream  but  that  I  love  thee  still. 
And,  so  thou  lean  on  our  fair  Father  Christ, 
Hereafter  m  that  world  where  all  are  pure. 
We  two  may  meet  before  high  God." 

Such  is  the  dark,  sad  story  which  Hosea  pathetically  shadows 
forth  in  the  three  first  chapters  ;  and  it  taught  him  the  chief 
lesson  of  his  life.     For  he  accepted  God's  dealings  with  him, 


ICX>  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

and  found  that  tliou;^h  the  chastening  was  grievous,  it  brought 
forth  the  peacealjle  fruit  of  righteousness  in  his  soul.  By  virtue 
of  his  holy  submissiveness  he  became  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
prophets,  and  in  the  fall,  the  punishment,  and  the  amendment 
of  an  adulterous  wife,  he  saw  a  symbol  of  God's  ways  with  sinful 
men. 

For  the  lesson  which  he  learnt  was  this.  If  the  love  of  man 
can  be  so  deep,  how  unfathomable,  how  eternal  must  be  the 
love  of  God  ! 

First  of  all  the  prophets  he  "rises  to  the  sublime  height 
of  calling  the  affection  with  which  Jehovah  regards  His  people 
love"  In  Amos  God  is  beneficent,  and  /cnoius  Israel  ;  in  Joel 
God  is  glorious  and  merciful  ;  but  Hosea  introduces  a  new  theo- 
logical idea  into  Hebrew  prophecy  when  he  ventures  to  name 
the  love  of  God.  Hence,  "  Amos  is  the  prophet  of  morality,  of 
human  right,  of  the  ethical  order  in  human  life  ;  but  Hosea  is  a 
prophet  of  religion.'" ' 

And  to  what  unknown  depths  cannot  God's  love  pierce  ! 
Agonizing  experience  had  taught  him  that  human  love,  so  poor, 
so  frail,  so  mixed  with  selfishness — human  love,  whose  wings 
are  torn  and  soiled  so  easily,  and  which  droops  before  wrong  like 
•a  tlower  at  the  breath  of  a  sirocco  — even  human  love,  though 
disgraced  by  faithlessness,  though  dragged  through  the  mire 
of  shame,  can  still  survive.  Must  not  this  then  be  so  v/ith  the 
unchangeable  love  of  God  ?  If  Hosea  could  still  love  the  guilty 
and  thankless  woman,  would  not  God  still  love  the  guilty  and 
tliankless  nation,  and  by  analogy  the  guilty  and  thankless  soul.'' 
That  is  why,  again  and  again,  the  voice  of  menace  breaks  into 
sobs,  and  the  funeral  anthem  is  drowned,  as  it  were,  in  anu;el 
melodies.  He  saw  the  decadence  and  doom  of  Ephraim  ;  he 
siw  king  after  king  p'jrish  by  war  and  murder;  he  heard  the 
thundering  march  of  the  Assyrian  shake  the  ground  from  far; 
he  knew  that  the  fate  of  Samaria  should  be  the  fate  of  Ueth- 
Arbel  ;  and  yet,  in  spite  of  all,  in  his  last  chapter  his  style 
ceases  to  be  obscure,  rugged,  enigmatical,  oppressed  with  heavy 
thoughts  ;  and  to  this  doomed  people  he  still  can  say,  as  the 
message  of  Jehovah,  "  I  will  love  them  freely,  for  mine  anger  is 
turned  away." 

It  is  so  intolerable  to   the  prophet  to  regard  God's  aliena- 
tion from  his  people  as  final,  that  from  the  first  he  intimates 
•  Prof.  Davidson,  referring  to  Duhm,  "Theology  of  the  Proohets. " 


THE  PROPHECY  OF   HOSEA.  lOI 

the  belief  that  they  should  repent  and  be  forgiven,  and 
become  numberless  as  the  sands  of  the  sea,  and  that  Judah — of 
whom  at  first  he  thought  more  favourably  than  at  a  later  time — 
shall  be  joined  with  them  under  a  single  king.' 

As  we  have  explained  his  story  it  becomes  needless  to  enter 
into  the  endless  controversies  as  to  whether  Hosea's  relation  to 
Gomer  was  a  fiction,  or  a  vision,  or  a  reality,  or  an  act  of 
obedience  to  an  immoral  command.  We  understand  that  when 
he  felt  the  Divine  impulse  to  marry  her,  he  may  indeed  have 
been  aware  that  she  was  of  a  frivolous  nature,  which  he 
hoped  to  elevate,  but  she  had  not  yet  revealed  the  depravity 
which  attaches  to  her  name.  And  when  he  has  discovered  her 
vileness  he  will  not  give  her  up.  He  bids  her  children  to  plead 
with  her  lest  his  wrath  should  be  irrevocably  awakened,  and  at 
every  line  the  figure  of  his  guilty  wife  is  confused  with  that  of 
his  sinful  nation.  What  Comer's  infidelity  was  to  him,  that 
was  the  idolatry  of  the  nation  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  the  path  of 
Gomer,  like  that  of  Ephraim,  had  been  hard  and  bitter  ;  ex- 
perience had  taught  her  that  she  was  happier  with  her  first 
husband,  and  had  taught  Ephraim  that  all  her  blessings  came 
from  God  (ii.  4-7).  Such  apostasy  could  not  but  end  in  shame 
and  punishment  (8-13),''  yet  these  disciplinary  chastisements 
might  bring  about  a  more  blessed  betrothal,  so  that  even 
the  gloomy  valley  of  Achor  ("  trouble ")  should  be  a  door 
of  hope  (14-20).  The  ill-omened  names  of  the  children  should 
be  reversed  in  significance,  and  a  day  should  dawn  on  which 
God's  blessings  should  be  shown  in  the  blessings  of  heaven 
and  earth  (21-23). 

Gomer  grew  more  shameless,  as  Israel  did  ;  she  went  to  her 
I  )vers,  and  Israel  to  his  idolatry.  Hosea  brings  back  his  wife 
for  fifteen  siiverlings  and  some  corn  and  barley,^  and  she  had 
to  sit  desolate  in  his  house  many  days.  Even  so  should  Israel  be 
for  many  days  without  king,  or  prince,  or  sacrifice,  or  image,  or 
ephod,  or  teraphin  ;    "alteiward  shall  the  children  of  Israel 


'  u.  1-3. 

«  In  ver.  12,  for  "  I  will  make  them  "  (the  lovers)  "  a  forest"  ;  the  LXX. 
read,  "  I  will  make  theni  '  a  testimony,'  "  by  a  slight  change. 

3  iii.  2.  The  word  for  a  "  half-homer"  occurs  here  only.  The  whole 
price  given  may  be  reckoned  at  £3  15s. — a  very  low  sum.  It  was  the  com- 
pensation to  be  given  for  a  slave  gored  by  a  bull  (Ex.  xxi.  32). 


I02  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

return  and  seek  the  Lord  their  God,  and  David  their  king,  and 
shall  fear  the  Lord  and  His  i;oodness  in  the  latter  days."  ' 

This,  then,  is  the  outline  of  the  three  first  chapters.  They 
were  written  in  the  outwardly  prosperous,  but  inwardly  corrupt 
days  of  Jeroboam  IL,  wlien  the  possibilities  of  hope  seemed 
brighter  than  they  could  be  during  the  succeeding  tumults  and 
anarchies.  In  these  chapters  the  repentance  and  restoration  of 
Israel  is  prophesied  as  clearly  as  his  abandonment  by  God.  It 
was  not  till  the  last  that  the  strong  faith  of  the  prophet  tri- 
umphed over  the  deepening  darkness.  But  the  general  charac- 
teristics of  his  mind  and  style  are  the  same  throughout. 

There  is  little  directly  Messianic  prediction  in  Hosea,  but  his 
promises  of  hope  and  deliverance  point  to  the  Messianic  age 
in  i.  II  ;  ii.  15-23  ;  iii.  5  ;  .\i.  10,  li  ;  and  especially  xiv.  4-8. 
None  of  these  predictions  found  any  exact  and  literal  fulfilment, 
but  they  all  indicate  the  great  hope  which  lay  deep  in  the  heart 
of  all  the  true  prophets  of  the  Lord. 

'  The  Rabbis  recognize  "David  their  King"  in  its  Messianic  sense 
(Berachoth,  f.  5.  a  ;  Megillah,  f.  18.  a). 


CHAPTER  IX. 

JOEL. 

Joel — Nothing  known  of  him — His  name — Widely  different  conjectures  as 
to  his  date— Elements  of  the  decision — His  style — His  eschatology 
compared  with  that  of  other  prophets — Indications  that  he  was  a  post- 
exile  prophet — Allusions  to  the  Captivity — Priestly  sympathies — Re- 
capitulation— Origin  of  the  prophecy — Indebtedness  to  earlier  sources. 

"  Joel,  the  son  of  Pethud." 

These  words  exhaust  all  that  we  Tcnow  directly  respecting 
the  author  of  one  of  the  most  polished  and  eloquent  books 
of  the  Minor  Prophets. 

It  cannot  even  be  said  with  certainty  that  we  know  as  much 
as  this,  for  the  names  Joel  and  Pethuel  may,  like  Malachi,  be 
symbolic.  Joel  means  "  Jehovah  is  God,"  '  and  Pethuel  per- 
haps "persuaded of  God  "  ;^  and  if  by  accident  the  real  name  of 
this  prophet  has  been  lost,  as  were  those  of  others  no  less 
eminent,  it  is  by  no  means  impossible  that  a  significant  title 
may  have  been  given  him.'  That  Pethuel  was  himself  a  prophet 
is  an  invention  of  the  Talmudists.  All  that  ive  may  further  learn 
of  Joel  is  the  inference  suggested  by  his  book  that  he  belonged 
to  Judah,  and  in  all  probability  lived  at  Jerusalem.*  It  has  been 
supposed  that  he  was  a  priest,  but  his  references  to  the  priests 
(u  9,  13,  14  ;  ii.  17)  neither  prove  this,  nor  even  render  it  pro- 

'  According  to  Merx,  it  might  be  a  jussive  form  from  ?''i<in,  and  mean, 
"  May  He  begin."  Among  the  many  monographs  on  Joel  may  be  mea- 
tioned  those  of  Credner  (1831),  Wiinsche  (1872),  Merx  (1879). 

»  LXX.  Ba0o»;»j\.  Vulg.  Phatuel.  Some  identify  it  with  Methuel,  "  Man 
of  God."  Rashi,  from  the  Midrash,  makes  it  mean  ?^5  -Wil,  God  shaii 
persuade. 

3  The  name  Joel  was  not  uncommon.  It  was  borne  by  the  eldest  son  of 
Samnel  (i  Sam.  viii.  2),  and  by  a  son  of  King  Uzziali,  and  others  (i  Chron. 
iv.  35  ;  vi.  33,  36  ;  vii.  3  ;  xv.  11  ;  &c.)  ;  Megillah,  f.  15. 

*  ii.  I,  15  ;  iji.  18,  21. 


I04  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

bable.  The  assertion  of  the  Pseudo-Epiphanius  that  Joel  be- 
longed to  the  tribe  of  Reuben,  and  was  buried  at  Bethhoron  is 
not  worth  the  paper  on  which  it  is  written.'  Even  if  true  it 
would  tell  us  nothing,  for  long  before  Joel's  time  "  Reuben  "  had 
become  a  geographical  expression,  and  scarcely  even  that. 

There  is  not  one  of  the  prophets  whose  date  is  still  so 
uncertain,  because  it  has  to  be  conjectured  from  vague  and 
variable  data.  When  almost  every  critic  differs  from  his  prede- 
cessor it  may  well  be  supposed  either  that  the  elements  for  a 
final  decision  are  lacking,  or  that  they  have  been  approached 
under  preconceptions  which  lead  to  a  misinterpretation  of  their 
real  significance. 

The  critics  differ  from  each  other  by  a  space  of  four  centuries. 

Credner,  who  in  1831  wrote  an  important  and  elaborate  book 
on  Joel,  places  Joel  between  890  and  840,  and  he  has  been 
more  or  less  closely  followed  by  Winer,  Hitzig,  Ewald,  Schrader, 
Keil,  Delitzsch,  and  others.  Ewald  even  regards  his  book  as  the 
earliest  of  the  extant  prophetic  writings,  and  in  this  he  seems  to 
show  less  than  his  usual  remarkable  insight. 

De  Wette  places  Joel  between  870-840. 

Knobel  thinks  that  he  prophesied  under  Uzziah  about  800. 

Hengstenberg  and  Havernick  make  him  a  contemporary  of 
Hosea  and  Amos  about  79a 

Theiner  and  Berthold  refer  his  prophecy  to  the  reigns  of 
Hezekiah  and  Ahaz  about  730,  so  that  he  would  be  a  con- 
temporary of  Isaiah. 

Jahn,  following  the  Seder  Olam,  holds  that  he  lived  under 
Manasseh  in  690. 

Eckermann  brings  him  down  to  the  reign  of  Josiah,  about  630. 

Schroder  (1829)  and  Kuenen  argue  for  a  still  later  date,  and 
place  him  in  or  near  the  days  of  the  Exile — about  590. 

Vatke  and  others  think — and  this  is  the  view  which  has 
found  a  powerful  supporter  in  Merx,  and  seems  likely  to  super- 
sede all  the  others — that  he  was  a  prophet  of  the  days  of 
Nehemiah,  about  445.  As  I  adopt  the  views  of  Merx,  1  shall 
chiefly  follow  his  remarkable  treatise,  "  Die  I'rophetie  Joel  und 
Ihre  Ausleger"  (Halle,  1879). 

In  the  present  condition  of  Hebrew  learning,  it  is  useless  to 
attempt  to  decide  the  question  on  philological  grounds.  \\  hen 
two  Hebraists  so  profound  as  Ewald  and  Hitzig  lake  such 
'  It  is  a  guess  founded  on  i  Chron.  v.  4. 


JOEL.  105 

different  views  of  language,  that  the  one  can  feel  sure  that  the 
Second  Psalm  is  of  Davidic,  and  the  other  of  Maccabean 
origin,  we  may  infer  that  philological  considerations  can  rarely 
be  regarded  as  decisive  except  in  cases  where  there  are  very 
marked  Aramaisms  or  other  peculiarities.'  On  the  other 
hand,  any  one  who  is  acquainted  with  literature  may  judge  for 
himself  that  the  style  of  Joel  is  eminently  smooth  and  flowing, 
and  its  golden  facility,  so  free  from  the  ruggedness  of  Hosea  and 
Amos,  is  a  far  more  common  phenomenon  in  the  later  than  in 
the  earlier  epochs  of  national  literature. 

Credner  and  his  many  able  followers  were  all  influenced  by 
the  facts  that  (i)  Joel  makes  no  mention  of  either  Syrians  or 
Assyrians  in  iii.  4,  19  ;  and  that  (2)  Amos  and  other  prophets 
appear  to  utilize  some  of  his  phrases.^  But  not  to  dwell  on 
the  uncertainty  in  many  cases  of  the  ''  argument  from 
silence,''  they  do  not  attempt  to  disprove  that  (i)  Joel  may 
have  written  long  after  the  days  of  the  Syrians  and  Assyrians  ; 
and  (2)  that  he  may  have  borrowed  largely  from  other  prophets, 
not  they  from  him. 

To  argue  that  Joel  must  have  lived  before  840 — because  other- 
wise he  would  have  alluded  to  the  Syrians  of  Damascus  who 
about  that  time  attacked  Jerusalem,  in  the  reign  of  Joash 
(2  Chron.  xxiv,  23  ;  2  Kings  xii.  18)  ;  and  after  890 — because 
he  speaks  of  the  Edomites  and  Philistines  as  independent, 
whereas  they  were  subject  till  the  reign  of  Joram,  is 
clearly  useless,  if  reasons  can  be  urged  for  the  view  that  he 
lived  at  a  much  later  time,  when  the  Edomites  and  Philistines 
were  free,  and  when  Syria  and  Assyria  had  practically  ceased  to 
exist.' 

*  The  knowledge  of  Hebrew  has,  no  doubt,  gone  on  improving  ever  since 
the  days  of  Reuchlin,  and  style  and  language  will  perhaps  ultimately  be 
decisive  criteria  ;  but  at  present  even  great  Hebraists  often  differ  by  600 
years  in  the  dates  they  give  as  an  infereuce  from  style,  which,  says  Dr. 
Pusey,  is  "as  if  men  doubted  from  internal  evidence  whether  a  work  were 
written  in  the  time  of  William  the  Conqueror  or  in  that  of  Cromwell ;  of 
St.  Louis  or  Louis  XVHL  ;  or  whether  Herod  was  a  contemporary  of  Calli- 
machus,  and  Ennius  of  Claudian,  or  the  author  of  the  '  Niebelungen  Lied  ' 
lived  with  Schiller  "  ("  Minor  Prophets,"  p.  227). 

"  The  controversy  about  the  word  "the  Northerner"  in  ii.  20  will  be 
considered  later. 

3  Who  are  meant  by  the  Sabeans  in  iii.  8,  is  doubtful.  Comp.  Ezek. 
xxvii.  22. 


Io6  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

In  point  of  fact  there  is  in  Joel  a  j^eneral  absence  of  foreign 
politics,  as  well  as  of  social  allusions  ;  and  his  mention  of 
PhcEnicia,  Philistia,  Edom,  and  Egypt  would  have  been  ecjually 
applicable  at  different  epochs.  The  Philistines  are  chiefly 
reproached  as  slave  dealers,  who  sold  Jewish  slaves  to  Javan, 
and  by  Javan  seems  to  be  meant  the  lonians,  that  is  the  Greeks. 
Credner  and  Hitzig  do  indeed  refer  the  name  to  a  town  in 
Arabia,  but  there  is  no  trace  of  any  connection  of  this  Javan 
with  the  slave  trade.  Gaza  was  a  slave  emporium  in  the  days 
of  Amos  (Amos  i.  6),  and  it  continued  to  be  so  down  to  the  days 
of  the  Romans.  Obadiah  and  even  Malachi  (i.  4)  still  complain 
of  Edom.  The  advocates  of  the  early  date  are  compelled  to 
explain  the  allusion  to  Egypt  as  a  reference  to  the  invasion  of 
Shishak,  but  that  must  have  been  almost  forgotten  at  the 
earliest  date  which  we  can  assign  to  the  prophet. 

Ifweare  torely  on  suchpurelyncgativearguments,  it  is  a  much 
stronger  negative  argument  against  the  early  date  of  Joel  that 
he  nowhere  makes  the  slightest  allusion  to  the  Northern  King- 
dom of  the  Ten  Tribes.'  Hosea,  Amos,  the  earlier  Zechariah, 
Micah,  and  Isaiah  constantly  speak  of  the  Kingdom  of  Eph- 
raim,  but  for  Joel,  as  for  some  of  the  latest  prophets,  it  might 
be  non-existent.  If  Joel  had  written  in  the  days  of  Joash  he 
would  hardly  have  spoken  of  Judah  as  representing  exclusively 
the  people  of  Jehovah. 

And  there  are  similar  arguments  from  silence,  far  more 
decisive  than  those  to  which  so  much  importance  has  been 
attached. 

1.  Thus  Joel,  unlike  the  early  prophets,  is  entirely  silent — 
except  in  the  way  of  distant  allusion — as  to  the  wickedness  of 
either  Judah  or  Israel.  No  prophet  dwells  so  little  on  moral 
considerations. 

2.  He  does  not  say  a  word  in  reprobation  of  the  tendency  to 
idolatry,  which  was  an  almost  continuous  aberration  of  both 
kingdoms  in  reign  after  reign.  If  such  silence  can  be  thought 
suitable  to  the  reign  of  Joash,  surely  it  is  much  more  accordant 
with  the  days  of  Ezra.^ 


V' 


»  The  mere  word  "  Israel  "  (ii.  27  ;  iii.  2,  16)  of  course  counts  for  nothing 
so  far  as  this  argument  is  concerned.  "Of  Israel,"' says  Dr.  Pusey,  "he 
takes  no  more  notice  than  if  it  were  not  "  ("  Minor  Prophets,"  p.  94). 

He  names  neitiier  sins  nor  sinners  among  his  own  people"   (Dr. 
Pusey). 


JOEL.  107 

3.  He  does   not   once  allude  to  the   high  places  {Bamoth), 
which  are  made  so  incessantly  a  subject  of  reproach  in  the 
Books  of  Chronicles  and  Kings.    Amos  complains  of  them  (vii. 
9),  and  Hosea  (x.  8),  and  Micah  (i.  5).     Is  it  likely  that  Joel,  if 
he  was  an  elder  contemporary,  would  have  been  entirely  silent  ? 
A  crowd  of  positive  considerations  seem  to  make  it  certain 
that  Joel  lived  after  the  return  from  the  Exile.     For  the  entire 
tone  of  Joel's  theology  and  eschatology  is  far  less  prophetic 
than  it  is  priestly  and  apocalyptic.     It  is  external  and  particu- 
larist.     It  has  none  of  the  breadth,  richness,  and  spirituality  ot 
Isaiah  or  Micah.     The  heathen  are  annihilated,  not  won  over 
to  the  knowledge  of  God,  as  in  Micah.  The  Jews  are  saved  appa- 
rently as  Jews,  with  no  express  distinction,  as  in  the  later  Isaiah,' 
between  the  good  and  the  bad  ;^  and  the  heathen  are  destroyed 
as  heathen,  with  no  reference,  as  in  Zechariah  and  Zephaniah, 
to  those  who  shall  be  converted.^     The  "  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  upon  all  flesh  "  is  no  exception  to  this  purely  Judaic  point 
of  view  ;  for,  as  in  Ezekiel  xxxix.  29,  it  refers  primarily  to  Judah, 
and  comes  before  the  signs  of  terror,  and  the  excision  of  the 
nations  ;  and  the  fruits  of  this  Pentecost  are  not,  as  in  the  New 
Testament,  love,  joy,  peace,  holiness,  but  dreams,  visions,  and 
prophecy.     And  "  prophecy  "  is  put  first,  and  not  last,  so  that 
it  must  apparently  be  understood  in  something  lower  than  its 
best  sense."* 

In  point  of  fact  the  eschatology  of  Joel  is  scarcely  an  out- 
pouring of  impassioned  and  original  prophecy  like  that  of 
earlier  and  greater  prophets.  It  has  to  a  large  extent  an 
apocalyptic  and  literary  character.  It  accords  with  the  less 
burning  inspiration  and  more  formal  religion  of  the  post-exilic 
period.  The  details  of  his  prophecy  of  the  future,  as  set  forth 
in  the  second  division  of  his  prophecy,  are  as  follows.  Speaking 
in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  he  promises — 

1.  Fertility,  and  deliverance  from  reproach,  and  destruction 
of  the  locusts,  and  abundant  rain,  and  honour  (ii.  19-27J.S 

2.  Outpouring  of  the  Spirit  (ii.  28-32). 

3.  Signs  and  wonders  before  the  day  of  the  Lord  (ii.  30,  31). 

'  Isa.  Ixy.  II.  2  Mic.  iv.  2,3  ;  Isa.  Ixvi.  16. 

3  Zech.  xiv.  16,  17  ;  Zeph.  iii.  8-io. 

■»  See  Merx,  pp.  21,  22,   to  whom   I  am  also  indebted  in  the  following 
clauses. 
5  Comp.  Amos  ix.  13  ;  Isa.  xxxii.  15,  vil.6,  7,  lix.  21,  Ixi.  5  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  -3         #( 


lo8  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

4.  Refuge  and  deliverance  in  Jerusalem  for  those  who  call  on 
the  name  of  Jehovah,  and  the  remnant  whom  Jehovah  shall 
call  (ii.  32). 

5.  Assembling  of  all  the  nations '  in  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat,  to  judge  them  for  the  captivity  and  scattering  of  Israel  (iii. 
1-3). 

6.  Special  threats  against  Tyre,  Sidon,  and  Philistia  for 
having  sold  Jewish  captives  (iii.  4-6). 

7.  Return  of  the  Jews,  and  retaliation  on  their  enemies  (iii. 
7,8). 

8.  Command  to  proclaim  this  prophecy  and  to  prepare  for 
war  (iii.  9,  10). 

9.  Summons  to  the  nations  (iii.  11,  12). 

10.  Command  to  the  Jews  to  slaughter  them  (iii.  13,  14). 

1 1.  Darkening  of  the  sun  and  moon,*  and  the  roar  of  Jehovah 
from  Jerusalem  against  the  heathen,  but  His  protection  of  His 
people  (iii.  15,  16). 

12.  Security  of  Jerusalem,  and  her  blessings,  and  her' fer- 
tilising influence  (iii.  17,  i8).3 

13.  Desolation  of  Egypt  and  Edom  (iii.  ig). 

14.  Eternal  peace  and  prosperity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem 
(iii.  20,  2i).* 

There  is  scarcely  one  of  these  elements — of  which  the  order 
is  sometimes  surprising — which  does  not  seem  to  be  borrowed 
from  older  prophets.  Isaiah  is  full  of  prophecies  of  the  glory 
and  peace  of  Judah  ;  Ezekiel  speaks  of  the  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  (xxxix.  29)  ;  the  signs  in  the  sun  and  moon  and  stars  and 
the  gathering  of  the  nations  are  powerfully  set  forth  in  Isaiah  (Ix. 
19;  xxiv.  23;  xxxiv.  i;  comp.  Ezek.  xxxii.  7).  And  it  is  re- 
markable that  in  Isaiah  xxxiv.  the  threat  against  "all  the 
nations  "  suddenly  passes  into  a  special  denunciation  against 
Edom.  In  Micah  (v.  8),  as  here,  there  is  a  destruction  of  the 
nations,  and  in  Zephaniah  (iii.  8)  they  are  assembled  for  judg- 
ment, which  is,  however,  followed  by  mercy.  Again,  in  the 
earlier  Zechariah  (xii.  9),  '•  all  nations  that  come  against  Jeru- 
salem" are  to  be  destroyed,  but  afterwards  (xiv.  8) — not  before, 
as  in  Joel — there  is  an  outpouring  of  the  Spirit.  It  seems  clear 
that  Joel  has  used  these  and  other  passages  in  his  collective 
picture,    and    has    not    combined    them    in    the    same    order 

•  Comp.  Zeph.  iii.  8.         •  Comp.  Amos  v.  8,  viii.  9  ;  Ezek.  xxxviii.  22. 
s  Ezek.  xlvii.  6-12.  ■•  Isa.  xlix.  5  ;  Ezek.  xxix.  26  ;  Mai.  i.  3. 


JOEL.  109 

as  in  their  original  sources.  And  the  sudden  introduction  of 
Tyre,  Sidon,  Philistia,  Egypt,  and  Edom  (in  iii.  4-8)  is 
more  easily  explained  if  we  suppose  that  Joel  was  not  unin- 
fluenced by  what  he  had  read  in  the  Prophet  Ezekiel  ;'  only 
the  world  of  Joel,  as  we  should  expect  in  a  prophet  of  the 
period  which  succeeded  the  Exile,  has  a  narrower  horizon  than 
that  of  Ezekiel. 

With  the  late  date  agrees  the  absence  of  all  mention  of  the 
king  or  princes.^  In  Jeremiah  xvii.  20  we  read  :  "  Hear  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  ye  kings  of  Judah,  and  all  Judah,  and  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  ; "  but  in  Joel  i.  14  the  appeal  is 
only  to  the  elders  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land.  The 
elders  are  not  mentioned  at  all  by  the  oldest  prophets,  though 
they  are  appealed  to  in  Ezekiel,  Jeremiah,  and  the  later  Isaiah. 
The  state  of  organisation  here  contemplated  is  exactly  such  as 
prevailed  under  the  mild  sway  of  the  Persians  after  the  return 
from  the  Exile. 

But  further  there  are  passages  which  seem  directly  to  refer 
to  the  Babylonish  captivity,  and  which  cannot  be  easily  ex- 
plained on  any  other  hypothesis  than  that  Joel  lived  after  the 
Exile.  Thus  in  iii.  i  we  read  :  "  In  that  time  when  I  shall 
bring  again  the  captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  I  will 
gather  all  nations,  and  will  plead  with  them  for  My  people  and 
My  heritage  Israel,  which  they  have  scattered  among  tlie  nations, 
and  parted  My  land."  And  in  iii.  17  :  "  Then  shall  Jerusalem 
be  happy,  and  there  shall  no  strangers  pass  through  her  any 
more." 

The  attempt  to  refer  this  captivity  to  the  obscure  raid  of  the 
Philistines,  Arabians,  and  Ethiopians  mentioned  in  2  Chron. 
xxi.  16,  17  is  very  unsuccessful.  That  raid  seems  chiefly  to 
have  resulted  in  a  plundering  of  the  palace  of  King  Jehoran:. 
It  is  difficult  to  imagine  that  allusions  so  clear  would  have 
been  overlooked  if  the  critics  had  not  attached  too  great 
importance  to  the  conjectural  and  subjective  place  assigned 
to  Joel  in  the  order  of  the  Hebrew  canon — an  order  which  is 
not  retained  even  in  the  Septuagint. 

Again,  we  find  in  Joel  a  stage  of  religious  conceptions  wholly 
different  from  that  of  the  early  prophets.    In  Joel  fasting  seems 

'  Ezek.  XXV.  15  ;  xxvi.-xxviii.,  xxx.,  &c. 

'  The  advocates  of  the  earlier  date  account  for  this  by  the  long  minority 
of  ]oash  under  the  High  Priest  Jehoiada. 


no  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

to  be  endowed  with  an  efficaciousness  beyond  that  which  it 
assumes  in  the  writings  of  any  of  his  predecessors.  Jeremiah, 
Isaiah,  and  Zechariah  speak  of  it  but  slightly,  and  almost  with 
depreciation  ; '  but  in  Joel  it  assumes  the  prominence  which 
we  know  that  it  attained  in  the  post-exile  and  Maccabean 
period.*  So,  too,  he  speaks  of  the  drink-offering,  to  which 
Ezekiel  also  slightly  alludes  in  his  ideal  cultus  (xlv.  17),  but 
which  otherwise  in  earlier  prophets  is  either  not  mentioned  or 
only  mentioned  in  connection  with  heathen  worship  (Jer.  vii. 
18  ;  xix.  13  ;  Isa.  Ivii.  6;  Ezek.  xx.  28).  Nor  again  does  the 
niinchah,  or  "  oblation  " — except  in  the  general  sense  of  "  pre- 
sent" or  "fruit-offering" — attract  much  notice  in  the  earlier 
times.  Ezekiel,  in  his  later  section,  often  alludes  to  it,  but  it 
has  no  great  significance  in  any  other  prophet  except  Malachi. 
Until  the  days  of  Ezra  the  daily  oblation  seems  to  have  been 
the  private  offering  of  the  king.^  But  Joel  repeatedly  refers 
to  a  fear  lest  it  should  cease,'*  a  fear  which  is  itself  curious, 
because  the  amount  required  for  it  was  so  exceedingly  small. 
In  Joel,  too,  we  find  that  close  alliance  of  prophets  with  the 
priestly  party  which  existed  after  the  Exile,  but  of  which  there 
is  little  earlier  trace.  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  were  priests,  but 
were  completely  alienated  from  the  general  priestly  body,  and 
were  persecuted  by  them.  Amos,  Hosea,  and  Isaiah  stood  in 
strong  antagonism  to  their  priestly  contemporaries  ;  but  Joel 
and  Malachi  were  priestly  in  their  sympathies,  and  they  re- 
semble the  prophets  chiefly  in  their  eschatology.  All  the 
circumstances  point,  therefore,  to  the  inference  that  Joel  lived 
in  the  period  of  rest  and  literary  activity  which  succeeded  the 
struggles  of  Nehemiah  with  the  Samaritans  and  other  neigh- 
bouring peoples.  To  this  period  belongs  the  production  of 
Esther,  Jonah,  Malachi,  the  Books  of  Chronicles,  Ezra, 
Nehemiah,  and  other  books.  The  second  Temple  was  built, 
so  that  he  must  have  written  after  516  ;  and  probably  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem  (ii.  9)  were  finished,  in  which  case  he  lived  after 
445.  We  know  that  in  the  days  of  Nehemiah  there  was  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  prophetic  activity  (Neh.  vi.  7-14). 

To  sum  up  these  indications,  we  may  surely  say  that  Joel's 

'  Isa.  Iviii.  5-11  ;  Jer.  xiv.  12  ;  Zech.  vii.  5,  viii.  19. 
'  Jonah  iii.  5-7  ;  Neh.  i.  4.  ix.  i  ;  Ezra  viii.  21  ;  Esth.  iv.  3-16,  ix.  31  • 
Dan.  ix.  3  ;  Judith  viii.  6,  &c. 
3  VVellhausen,  "  Gesch.  Isr."  78.  *  i.  9,  13,  16  ;  ii.  14. 


JOEL,  1 1 1 

allusions  to  a  recent  captivity  (iii.  i,  2)  ;  his  complete  silence 
respecting  the  northern  triijes  ;  the  fact  that  he  does  not  allude 
to  any  king,  but  only  to  sheykhs  and  priests  ;  his  polish  and 
perfection  of  style  ;  his  apparent  familiarity  with  previous 
writers  ;  his  attitude  of  union  with  the  priestly  party  ;  his 
allusions  to  Levitic  worshfp  ;  his  freedom  from  any  denuncia- 
tion of  idolatry  and  irregular  worship  ;  the  fact  that  he  writes 
neither  in  strophes  nor  in  verse,  but  in  rhythmic-prose — these, 
and  the  narrowness  of  his  political  horizon,  all  seem  to  mark 
that  his  date  must  be  fixed  four  centuries  and  more  later  than 
that  adopted  by  Credner  and  Ewald. 

In  fact,  some  of  the  difficulties  of  a  prophet— whose  smooth 
and  easy  style '  has  concealed  from  many  critics  the  fact  that 
he  is  full  of  difficulties — are  most  easily  met  by  the  supposition 
that,  being  a  deep  student  of  the  writings  of  his  predecessors, 
and  seeing  that  many  of  their  prophecies — whether  of  the 
overthrow  of  the  nations  or  of  the  glories  of  Judah — were  still 
unaccomplished,  he  based  upon  their  predictions  his  main 
conceptions  as  to  the  Day  of  the  Lord,  while  he  placed  the 
groundwork  of  this  eschatology  on  the  basis  of  events  which 
he  had  personally  witnessed."^  He  found  his  motive  in  a  pecu- 
liarly disastrous  plague  of  locusts,  surpassing  in  horror  and 
devastation  any  which  had  happened  in  the  memory  of  man. 
This  naturally  turned  his  thoughts  to  the  plague  of  locusts  re- 
corded in  Exodus.  The  plague  of  darkness,  the  death  of  the  first- 
born, and  the  ultimate  deliverance,  suggested  to  him  a  sequence 
of  pictures  such  as  had  already  been  shadowed  forth  in  much 
the  same  order  in  the  78th  and  io6th  Psalms.  This  was 
all  the  more  natural  to  him,  because  a  similar  series  of  con- 
ceptions had  been  powerfully  set  forth  in  Ezekiel  (xx.),  with 
whose  writings  he  seems  to  have  been  familiar.  But  Joel 
also  must,  like  Micah  and  the  other  prophets,  be  understood 
symbolically  and  conditionally.     His   predictions  are  general, 

•  Dr.  Pusey  calls  it  "  a  blending  of  energy  and  softness."  "  Die  Glatte 
eine  Ergebniss  seiner  Studien,  eine  Renaissance- Erscheinung  ist,  wie  sie  die 
jungsten  Psalmen,  z.  b.  Ps.  xliv.,  ebenfalls  «larbieten  eine  Stylgiwandtheit 
die  mehr  der  Spiache  der  Jiidischen  Liturgie  in  den  Machzor  als  der  eines 
Amos  und  Hosea  gleicht  "  (Merx,  p.  78). 

^  Knobel  ("  Prophetismus  "  1.  325),  on  the  supposition  that  other  pro- 
phets borrowed  from  Joel,  points  to  such  passages  as  Isa.  xxiv.  2.1,  xxxii. 
19 ;  Mic.  V.  8  ;  Zeph.  iii.  8-19  ;  Zech.  i.  15,  ii.  4,  xii.  9,  xiv.  3,  12  ;  Hag. 
ii.  6-21. 


112  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

not  minute  ;  ideal,  not  literal.     His  main  object  was  to  awaken 
religious  earnestness  by  alternate  appeals  to  fear  and  hope. 

But  if  the  arguments  of  Merx  and  others  be  valid  to  prove 
that  Joel  was  a  prophet  of  the  latest  period,  it  is  needless  to 
enter  into  any  separate  discussion  of  the  question  whether  he 
borrowed  from  Amos  or  Amos  from  him.'  This  question,  and 
others  which  resemble  it,  is  at  once  settled  by  the  chronology. 
It  is  also  probable  that  he  felt  the  influence  of  Obadiah.' 

'  See  Amos  i.  2,  ix.  13  ;  Joel  iii.  16,  iii.  18. 

*  Comp.  Joel  iii.  3,  19  with  Obad.  10,  14,  11;  and  ii.  32,  iii.  17,  with  Obad. 
17-    Merx  has  in  favour  of  his  view  the  authority  of  a  very  ancient  Midrash. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   BOOK   OF  JOEL.' 

Outline  of  the  prophecy— i.  The  Day  of  the  Lord  and  the  locust  plague— 
2.  Historic  notice — 3.  Consoling  promise  of  the  nearer  future — 4.  The 
blessings  of  the  Church,  the  judgment  of  the  world.  Difficulties  of 
interpretation — Are  the  locusts  literal  or  allegorical? — Difficulties  in 
either  view. 

Turning  to  the  prophecy  as  a  whole,  we  find  that  it  falls  into 
the  two  obvious  divisions  of  a  call  to  repentance,  and  a  pro- 
mise of  blessing.  In  the  first  part  (i.-ii.  17)  Joel  describes  the 
misery  and  ravage  caused  by  a  plague  of  locusts,  which  in 
part  constitute  "a  Day  of  the  Lord,"  and  threaten  the  near 
approach  of  a  Day  of  the  Lord  yet  more  terrible  and  decisive. 
In  view  of  this  he  demands  a  day  of  solemn  penitence  and 
prayer.  In  the  second  part  (ii.  ig^J-iii.  21)  he  introduces  pro- 
mises of  Divine  deliverance  and  mercy  which  are  spoken  by 
Jehovah  Himself,  and  which  we  may  suppose  to  have  followed 
the  day  of  humiliation.  These  two  divisions  are  linked  to- 
gether by  two  verses  (ii.  18,  iga),  which  contain  what  Ewald 
calls  a  short  historical  explanation. 

The  outline  of  the  book  is  as  follows  : — 

I.  The  Day  of  the  Lord  indicated  by  the  locust 

PLAGUE  (i.  2-20). 

He  opens  with  a  declaration  that  the  extent  and  con- 
tinuance of  the  locust-plague  were  without  a  parallel.  The 
vineyards  and  fig-trees  were  ruined  by  this  army  of  lion- 
like invaders.  Everywhere  is  distress  and  mourning,  which 
is  most  conspicuous  among  the  priests  in  the  temple 
service.^     The  wheat  and  the  barley  have  been  destroyed,  as 

'  Among  5/«(:2iz/ commentaries  on  the  Book  of  Joel  maybe  mentioned 
Pococke  (Oxford,  1691),  Chandler  (London,  1735),  Credner  (Halle,  1831), 
Wiinsche  (Leipzig,  1872),  and  especially  Merx  (Halle,  1879). 

^  The  Miiichah  (see  Lev.  ii.  i)  and  the  drink-offering  (Exod.  xxix.  40 
could  no  longer  be  offered. 

9 


114  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

well  as  vine  and  fig,  and  pomegranate  and  date  and  apple. 
The  priests  are  bidden  to  spend  the  night  in  sackcloth,  and  to 
gatlier  the  eiders  and  people  to  a  solemn  fast,  because  the  Day 
of  the  Lord  is  at  hand.'  Famine  and  drought  and  misery  are 
everywhere,  afflicting  herds  of  dumb  cattle  as  though  one 
uni\crsal  fire  had  scathed  the  land  (i.  2-20). ' 

Blow  the  trumpet  of  alarm  in  Zion,  for  the  day  of  the  Lord 
is  at  h;ind,  a  day  of  gloom  and  darkness.  For  a  people  great 
and  mighty  is  advancing  against  the  land  with  fire  before  it, 
and  flames  behind,  turning  the  garden  of  Eden  into  a  wilder- 
ness, "and  also  a  parched  remnant  remaineth  not"  (ii.  1-3). 

Then  follows  a  description  of  the  locusts,  m  which  the  excite- 
ment and  terror  caused  by  their  approach  is  described  in  the 
strongest  language  of  Eastern  hynerbole.  The  locusts  look 
like  horses,^  and  advance  over  the  mountain-tops  like  the 
roar  of  chariots  or  the  crackling  of  flame,  while  nations  tremble 
and  all  faces  gather  blackness  before  them.  In  unswerving 
course  they  scale  the  walls  like  warriors,  and  climb  into  the 
houses  of  the  city  like  thieves,  in  dense  array.''  Ihe  earth 
shakes  before  them,  and  the  heaven  and  its  lights  are  darkened, 
and  Jehovah  thunders  before  their  host.  Yes,  it  is  a  day  of 
the  Lord  and  very  terrible  (ii.  4-11). 

Yet  even  now  it  is  not  too  late  to  turn  to  God  with  fasting, 
and  weeping,  and  heart-penitence,  for  He  is  mercilul  and 
may  repent.  Sound  the  trumpet  then,  and  call  an  assembly  ; 
and  let  all  come,  and  let  the  priests  weep  between  the  porch 
and  the  altar,  with  a  cry  that  God  would  save  them,  and  not 
make  His  Name  a  reproach  among  the  heathen  (ii.  12-17). 
Here  closes  the  first  division. 

2.  Historic  notice. 

We  must  suppose  that  the  assembly  has  been  held  ;  that  the 

'  Comp.  Jer.  xxxvi.  9  ;  Ezra  viii.  21  ;  Jonah  iii.  5  ;  Judith  iv.  12. 

-  The  coiiimentators  give  long  and  numerous  extracts  about  the  rav..^„3 
of  locusts  from  Pliny,  Orosius,  and  St.  Jerome  down  to  living  witnesses. 
See  Pliny,  "  H.  N."  ii.  29.  For  all  purposes  of  illustration  enough  is  given 
by  Tliomson,  "  The  Land  and  the  Book,"  p.  41,  seq.  9.  A  lar^^e  number 
of  illustrative  passages  is  collected  by  Dr.  Pusey  in  his  laborious  com- 
mentary. 

3  For  the  comparison  of  the  locusts  with  horses  compare  Rev.  ix.  7  and 
the  German  and  Italian  names  for  grasshoppers — Heupferde  Cavalctle. 

*  Jerome  compares  the  closeness  of  flight  of  the  locusts  to  the  stones  of  a 
mosaic,  "  instar  tesserularuni  qu.e  in  pavinientuiii  artificis  finguniur  manu." 


THE   BOOK  OF  JOEL.  II5 

solemn  rites  of  penitence  and  humiliation  have  been  performed  ; 
that  soon  afterwards  there  fell  an  abundant  rain  ;  that  the 
immediate  menace  of  the  day  of  Jehovah  was  averted  ;  and 
that  light  and  gladness  returned  to  the  people  and  to  the 
prophet's  heart.  Hence  two  verses  form  a  transition  to  the 
changed  character  of  the  remainder  of  the  book. 

"Then  Jehovah  was  jealous  for  His  land,  and  spared  His 
people  :  and  Jehovah  answered  and  said  to  His  people  " — (ii. 
18,  iga). 

The  remainder  of  the  book  contains  this  address,  which 
promises  rich  and  manifold  happiness  to  Judah  and  destruction 
to  his  enemies. 

3.  The  consoling  promise  of  the  nearer  future 
(ii.  19-27)- 

There  shall  be  no  more  drought  and  famine,  or  mockery 
among  the  heathen.  The  northerner — (or  perhaps,  "the 
infernal,"  "  the  ravager  ")— shall  be  removed,  and  the  locust 
swarms  swept  into  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Mediterranean  and 
the  desert,  there  to  perish  and  rot.  There  is  a  call  for  universal 
rejoicing,  for  God  has  sent  the  gracious  rain,'  and  with  it 
bursting  fertility  and  abundant  reparation  for  the  locust-eaten 
years.  God  is  in  the  midst  of  His  people.  Never  again  shall 
they  be  ashamed  (ii.  igi>-2y). 

4.  The  blessings  of  the  Church,  the  judgment  of 
the  world. 

i.  T/ie  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  (ii.  28,  29)  audits  accompany- 
ing signs  (30-32). 

There  shall  come  an  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  upon  all  his 
people  young  and  old.^  But  therewith  terrible  signs  in  heaven 
of  a  day  of  Jehovah  which  is  yet  to  come,  but  from  which  all 
who  call  on  the  Name  of  Jehovah  shall  be  delivered,  and  all 
the  remnant  whom  Jehovah  calls  (ii.  28-32). 

ii.  The  judgment  of  the  heathen  in  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat 
(iii.  1-16). 

'  For  "  He  hath  given  you  the  former  rain  moderately  (ii.  23,  A.V.,)  the 
niarg.  has  "a  teacher  of  righteousness"  ;  but  the  meaning  seems  to  be 
"  the  former  rain  in  just  vteasure"  (lit.,  "  in  or /or  ri^ktconsness)  a.s  in  the 
R.V. ;  Abarbanel,  taking  the  Hebrew  to  mean  "a  teacher  of  righteousness," 
explains  it  of  the  Messiah.  It  is  not  impossible  that  there  may  be  an 
intentional  play  on  the  two  meanings  of  the  word  moreh,  "  teacher,"  and 
"rain."  "  Ads  ii.  16-21. 


Il6  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

But  the  heathen  cannot  escape  that  Day  of  the  Lord.  They 
shall  all  be  assembled  in  the  valley  of  the  Judgment  of  Jehovah 
(Jehoshaphat)  to  give  account  of  their  cruelties  in  selling  the 
Jews  into  slavery  to  gratify  their  luxury  and  lust.  Tyre,  Sidon, 
Philistia,  have  all  taken  part  in  these  acts  of  robbery  and 
wrong.  The  Jews  shall  be  brought  back,  but  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  their  enemies  shall  in  their  turn  be  sold  to  the 
Sabeans  (iii.  i-8). 

The  heathen  are  summoned  to  battle  and  to  judgment  in  the 
valley  of  Jehoshaphat.  There  shall  take  place  the  vintage 
of  God's  wrath  amid  tumults  and  under  darkened  skies,  while 
Jehovah  roars  from  Zion  and  Jerusalem  (iii.  y-i6). 

iii.   Thebh'sini^ofJudah{\\\.  17-21). 

But  His  Name  shall  be  glorious  and  Jerusalem  be  for  ever 
safe.  Then  shall  follow  the  fertility  of  a  land  blessed  with 
many  waters,  and  from  the  Temple  a  stream  shall  flow  which 
shall  water  the  valley  of  Acacias.  But  Egypt  and  Edom  shall 
be  waste,  for  they  have  shed  innocent  blood.  Judah  and 
Jerusalem  shall  be  inviolate  for  ever,  and  their  innocent  blood 
shall  be  cleansed  '  (iii.  17-21). 

According  to  this  brief  sketch  of  the  essential  contents  of 
the  prophecy  it  might  seem  to  be  exceedingly  simple  and 
straightforward.  Yet  it  abounds  in  serious  difficulties,  so  that 
not  only  is  there  great  uncertainty  about  the  meaning  of  several 
crucial  passages  and  expressions,  but  also  wide  and  unsettled 
divergence  about  its  meaning  as  a  whole. 

I.  It  is,  for  instance,  almost  impossible  to  decide  whether 
we  are  to  understand  the  locusts  literally  or  allegorically.  Is 
Joel  thinking  of  real  locusts,  or  of  advancing  enemies?  or 
of  both? 

On  this  question  the  critics  are  divided.  Credner,  Duhm, 
and  Hitzig,  understand  the  locusts  literally  ;  Hilgenfeld, 
Theiner,  Havernick,  Hengstenberg,  Pusey,  and  partly  Merx, 
understand  them  as  symbols  of  the  enemies  of  Jerusalem. 
The  allegorists  are  more  or  less  supported  by  the  authority 

»  Lit.,  "And  I  will  hold  as  innocent  their  blood  which  I  have  not 
cleansed  "  ;  or  perhaps,  "  I  will  purge  (with  punishment)  their  blood,"  &c. 
But  the  meaning  is  far  from  clear.  Comp.  Deut.  xxi.  8  ;  Jer.  xxv.  29. 
Meyrick  (in  the  "  Speaker's  Commentary  ")  paraphrases  it,  "I  will  avenge 
on  their  enemies  the  innocent  blood  of  My  people  which  I  have  not  yet 
avenged." 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOEL.  II7 

of  the  Targum  and  of  Abarbanel  ;  by  most  of  the  Fathers  ;  by 
Luther,  Grotius,  and  many  moderns.  The  literalists  may  quote 
on  their  side  the  names  of  Rashi,  Aben  Ezra,  Kimchi,  Calvin, 
Bochart,  and  a  large  number  of  more  recent  critics. 

The  fact  that  opinion  is  so  equally  divided  shows  that  the 
question  is  surrounded  with  difficulties. 

Against  the  view  that  the  locusts  are  allegorical  may  be 
urged  the  continuance  and  persistency  of  the  metaphor,  and 
the  certainty  that  locusts  are  a  scourge  of  the  most  terrific 
character.  But  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  Joel  is  speaking 
of  locusts  only. 

i.  He  speaks  for  instance  of  ^'^  the  years  which  the  locust 
hath  eaten  "  (ii.  23),  and  except  in  very  unusual  instances  the 
ravages  of  a  locust  swarm  do  not  extend  beyond  one  year. 
The  exception  is  when,  owing  to  great  drought  and  heat,  the 
eggs  which  the  female  locust  has  deposited  before  migration 
are  hatched  into  a  new  swarm,  which  follows  the  direction  of 
the  first.  In  this  instance,  however,  Joel  indicates  that  the 
rain  was  sent,  the  prayer  of  the  people  answered  (ii.  23), 
and  the  calamity  removed.  The  use  of  the  plural  "years" 
is  not,  therefore,  adequately  explained.' 

ii.  Again,  how  are  we  to  understand  "  the  palmer-worm,  the 
locust,  the  cankervvorm,  the  caterpillar,"  of  i.  4  ?  The  Hebrew 
words  are  the  ^dzdm^  the  arbeh^  the  yeleq,'^  the  c/idstl,  and 
they  seem  to  mean,  in  accordance  with  their  etymology,  the 
Gnawer,  the  Swarmer,  the  Licker,  the  Consumer.^  But  are  they 
four  different  kinds  of  locusts  ?  As  there  are  eighty  known 
species  of  this  grylhis  migratorius,  the  supposition  would  be 
possible.  But  all  known  ravages  of  locusts  are  caused  by 
successive  flights  of  the  same  insect,  not  by  different  varieties. 
Are  they,  then,  as  Credner  argues,  successive  stages  in  the 
growth  of  the  same  insect,  meaning  the  unwinged,  the 
partially-winged,   the   full-winged    locust,   and    that   changing 

*  Credner  tries  to  explain  it  of  tfie  end  of  one  year  and  the  beginning  of 
another  ;  Hitzig  of  years  of  famine  caused  by  the  ravage  of  a  single  swarm. 

*  Only  here  and  in  Amos  iv.  9.  Vulg.  eruca,  "  caterpillar '" ;  Syr.  locusla 
non  alata. 

3  This  is  the  generic  word  for  "locust"  (Lev.  xi.  22).  Comp.  Jer. 
xlvi.  23.     The  renderings  of  the  LXX.  vary, 

*  LXX.  Ppov-)(o^,  an  immature  locust. 

S  LXX,  ipv<jij3r]  "mildew,"  which  is  quite  wrong. 


Il8  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

in  colour?  Such  is  the  view  of  Ewald,  and  he  says  that  these 
four  staj^es  are  well-marked.'  There  are  insuperable  difficulties 
in  this  theory.  F"or  if  four  successive  stages  had  been  intended 
in  i.  4  why  is  the  order  confused  and  altered  in  ii.  25  where 
the  arbeh  is  put  first,  and  the  gdsum  last  ?  This  is  inex- 
plicable if,  as  Credner  thought,  the  gdzdm  in  i.  4  meant  the 
mother-swarm,  and  the  arbeh,  yeleq,  and  chasil,  its  three 
metamorphoses.  In  point  of  feet  there  are  only /wi?  broadly- 
marked  changes  in  the  development  of  the  locust — from 
larva  to  pupa,  and  from  pupa  to  full-grown  locust.  In  hot 
climates  the  creature  can  use  its  wings  in  about  three  weeks. 
It  seems  certain  that  the  prophet  is  in  no  sense  writing  as 
a  natural  historian.  The  use  of  the  four  terms  is  only  due 
to  poetry  and  rhetoric,  just  as  the  Psalmist  in  Psa.  Ixxviii.  46, 
cv.  34,  freely  employs  the  words  chasil  and  jcleq  as  inter- 
changeable with  the  arbeh  which  is  used  in  the  Pentateuch 
to  describe  the  Egyptian  plague. 

iii.  There  is  a  formidable  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  literal 
sense  in  the  word  ^3T2in,  in  ii.  20,  where,  speaking  of  the 
locusts  as  perishing  by  being  swept  into  the  desert  and  the 
Eastern  and  Western  Seas,  the  Prophet  says,  "  I  will  remove 
far  off  from  you  the  Northerner.''''  It  is  undoubtedly  difficult 
to  account  for  such  a  name  being  given  to  the  locust-army 
which  in  Palestine  is  never  (or  scarcely  ever)  known  to  come 
from  the  North,  but  which  flies  from  the  deserts  of  the  South. 
It  is  indeed  said  that  they  might  be  carried  by  a  south  wind 
across  Arabia,  and  then  be  driven  by  another  wind  south  or 
south-west  into  Palestine.  But  even  if  this  be  so,  the  form  of 
the  word  indicates  the  native  land- — as  Covenlale  renders  it 
'*  him  of  the  North " — and  is  therefore  inapplicable  to  the 
locusts  which  swarm  from  the  Sahara  and  the  Libyan  Deserts.' 
It  has  accordingly  been  assumed  by  most  critics  that  this  is 
a  proof  of  the  figurative  character  of  the  entire  description, 
and  that  by  "the  Northerner"  and  "the  locusts"  are  meant  in 
reality  the  Assyrians.'     To  get  rid  of  this  difficulty  the  literalists 

'  "Prophets,"  i.  120,  Eng.  tr.  He  refers  to  De  Chancel,  "  Le  Grand 
Ddsert"  (Paris,  1851). 

="  The  attempt  of  Justi  to  make  it  mean,  "the  Xocwsis  advancing  north- 
wards," is  absurd. 

3  Compare  Zcph.  ii.  13,  "And  He  will  stretch  out  His  hand  upon  the 
North  (al-tzirp/i~'n)  and  will  destroy  Assyria,  and  will  make  Nineveh  a 
dcsol  ilion,  ami  drv  as  a  wilderness.  " 


THE   BOOK   OF  JOEL.  II9 

try  to  escape  the  meaning  of  ha-tzephoni.  Reuss  renders  it 
"the  devastator,"  connectin;:^  it  with  the  same  root  as  Typhon  ; 
Evvald,  accepting  the  same  derivation,  renders  it  "the  Infernal," 
observing  that  the  locusts  come  from  the  deserts  bordering  on 
Egypt  which  were  dedicated  to  Typhon,  the  spirit  of  evil, 
just  as  in  the  Apocalypse  the  locust-horsemen  come  out  of 
Hell.' 

2.  It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  there  are  no 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  allegorists.  It  may,  for  instance, 
be  noticed  that  the  locusts  are  compared  to  horses  and  horse- 
men (ii.  4)  which  would  be  inartistic  if  they  were  all  along 
intended  to  be  symbols  of  a  mounted  army.  Again,  if  the 
Gnawer,  the  Swarmer,  the  Licker,  and  the  Consumer  be  taken 
as  allegoric  types  of  Your  different  hostile  nations,  they  explain 
them  of  the  Assyrians,  Chaldeans,  Macedonians,  and  Romans, 
or  any  other  succession  of  four  enemies  ;  or,  morally,  of  anger, 
lust,  vainglory,  and  impatience,  or  any  other  four  vices.  These 
arbitrary,  fantastic,  and  baseless  modes  of  explanation  might  be 
possible  in  the  days  of  Gregory  I.  or  of  Albertus  Magnus,  and 
may  still  be  admissible  in  the  region  of  homiletic  application  ; 
but  in  these  days  no  serious  exegete  will  deem  it  worth  while 
to  bestow  a  second  thought  on  views  which  merely  float  in  the 
air  without  any  basis  whatever,  or  are  built  up  like  inverted 
pyramids,  resting  only  upon  the  narrowest  apex.  Merx  gives 
a  long  series  of  these  attempted  explanations  which  pervert 
everything  and  explain  nothing ;  robbing  Scripture  of  all 
reality  and  huinan  interest,  and  turning  it  into  "  an  obscure 
wood,  in  which  allegory  and  ignorance  hunt  together,  in  the 
interests  of  spurious  dogma  and  false  tradition." 

For  this  style  of  interpretation  makes  of  the  whole  book  a 
meaningless  riddle  with  no  interpretation  in  particular,  in  which 
this  or  that  verse  is  torn  out  of  its  context  to  receive  an  expla- 
nation of  no  value,  and  all  the  rest  is  left  to  explain  itself  any- 
how. For  instance,  if  "  the  northerner"  be  the  right  rendering, 
and  if  it  means  the  Assyrians,  either  the  rest  of  the  verse  applies 
to  them,  in  which  case  it  does  not  bear  the  slightest  resemblance 

'  Maurer  tries  to  connect  the  word  with  an  Arabic  root  for  defosuit 
excrententum,  as  though  it  means  stercoreus.  Hitzig,  without  altering  the 
meaning  "Northerner,"  explains  the  word  in  connection  with  the  North 
as  implying  what  is  dark,  hostile,  and  barbarous,  in  which  he  follows  an 
alternative  suggestion  of  Justi. 


I30  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

to  any  event  either  in  their  history  or  in  the  history  of  any 
others  of  the  Jewish  enemies  ;  or  the  rest  of  the  verse  applies 
only  to  the  locusts,  in  which  case  the  passage  would  be 
to  the  last  degree  inartistic  and  ineffectual.'  It  would  be  an 
altogether  preferable  alternative  to  suppose  a  corruption  of 
the  text,'  or  to  give  the  word  "Northerner"  some  other 
meaning  ;  ^  or  merely  to  say  that  the  unexplained  difficulty 
of  one  word  cannot  be  held  to  set  aside  the  general  bearing 
of  the  book  ;  or  to  suppose  that  we  have  here  some  incorporated 
gloss. 

But  difficulties  vanish  if  we  take  that  larger,  more  reasonable, 
historical,  and  critical  view  of  prophecy  which  is  absurdly 
characterized  as  "unbelief"  by  some  commentators,  but  which 
simply  approaches  the  Scriptures  historically,  and  takes  them 
to  be  what  they  actually  are  and  profess  to  be,  with  a  mind 
devoted  only  to  the  love  of  truth  as  the  best  homage  which  we 
can  offer  to  the  God  of  Truth.  No  one  will  advance  a  single 
inch  in  the  real  understanding  of  Scripture,  unless  he  comes 
to  it  with  an  honest  and  an  open  mind.  And  to  do  this  is  so 
far  from  being  a  proof  of  "  unbelief  "  that  it  is,  on  the  contrary, 
an  evidence  of  the  faith  which  believes  in  the  Divine  broadening 
of  knowledge,  and  in  the  light  which  lighteth  every  man,  and 
is  ever  coming  into  the  world. 

For  if  we  elevate  the  prophets  into  their  true  dignity 
as  teachers  of  a  spiritual  religion  which  placed  man  face  tc 
face  with  God — these  difficulties  will  not  arise.  The  non- 
sense which  commentators  have  made  out  of  the  Apocalypse 
is  a  sufficient  proof  that  Scripture  was  given  us  for  other  ends 
than  "  the  carnal  desire  to  arrive  at  material  evidence  by  the 
combination  of  words  or  calculations."*     If  we  are  right  in  the 

'  Even  Pliny  ("  H.  M."  xi.  29)  was  well  aware  that  it  was  the  common 
fate  of  locusts  to  perish  in  the  sea.  "  Gregatim  sublato  vento  in  maria  aiit 
stagna  decidunt."  Jerome  says  that  in  his  day  tlie  rotting  carcases  of 
myriads  of  locusts  which  liad  been  swept  into  the  Dead  Sea  and  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  corrupted  tlie  air  and  bred  pestilence. 

"  Thus  V.  Coin,  Ewald,  and  Meier  suggest  the  reading  isipponi,  "  mar- 
shalled," for  tsephoni^  "  Northern." 

^  The  word  may  be  symbolic,  not  geographical.  "  Rehold,  I  bring  evil 
fro/n  the  nor/li  "  (Jer.  iv.  5-8  ;  Comp.  i.  13,  vi.  1-6).  Since  the  north  is  the 
main  region  of  storms,  it  was,  from  early  days,  connected  with  evil. 

■•  See  an  excellent  sermon  on  "La  Prophetic,"  by  Engine  Bersicr,  in  the 
Revue  Chr^tieiiHe,  Jan.  1889. 


THE  BOOK   OF  JOEL.  T2I 

view  that  Joel  was  a  late  prophet,  and  that  he  moves  in  the  circle 
of  moral  convictions  and  eschatological  hopes  which  had  been 
marked  out  for  him  by  his  great  predecessors,  it  is  natural  to 
see  in  his  expression,  "  I  will  remove  far  from  you  the 
Northerner,'''  another  allusion  to  the  imagery  of  Ezekiel  of 
which  his  mind  is  full.'  Ezekiel  had  prophesied  strongly 
against  Gog  and  Magog,  by  which  he  means  the  Scythians, 
who,  in  the  seventh  century  before  Christ,  had  overflowed  from 
their  steppes  in  a  terrible  invasion.  They  had  taken  Sardis  in 
629,  had  defeated  Cyaxares  in  624,  had  attacked  Ashkelon,  and 
had  only  been  finally  driven  back  in  596.  Ezekiel,  in  imagery 
which  was  afterwards  borrowed  by  St.  John  in  the  Apocalypse, 
had  ideally  described  a  great  earthquake  and  massacre  of  those 
nations  in  the  valley  of  Hamon-Gog  ("  the  multitude  of  Gog") 
and  the  burial  of  them  "  to  cleanse  the  land  "  so  that  a  city 
should  be  called  Hamonah — "  the  multitude."  We  have  here  a 
conception,  analogous  to  that  of  the  later  Isaiah,  of  the  terrible 
realism  of  which  Joel  also  avails  himself. 

We  think  that  the  true  explanation  of  the  Book  of  Joel 
becomes  clear  if  we  suppose  him  to  be  a  post-exile  prophet, 
powerfully  moved  by  the  writings  of  his  predecessors.  As  he 
looked  on  the  poor  band  of  struggling  and  humiliated  exiles, 
toilfuUy  and  with  difficulty  rearing  their  poverty-stricken  Temple 
and  humble  walls,  he  could  not  but  be  struck  with  the  contrast 
between  the  smallness  of  the  fulfilment  with  the  magnificence 
of  the  promises  of  the  restoration  which  he  found  in  the  older 
prophecy.  In  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from  Egypt,  with  its 
darkening  of  the  sun,  its  locust  plague,  and  its  death  of  the 
first-born,  he  saw  an  omen  of  the  future.  He  found  the 
former  deliverance  vividly  described  in  the  Ptean  of  the  hundred 
and  fifth  Psalm,''  and  it  seemed  to  him  to  offer  a  type  of  what 

'  Compare  Joel  ii.  3,  "The  land  is  as  the  garden  of  Eden  before  them, 
and  behind  them  a  desolate  wilderness,"  with  Ezek.  xxxvi.  35,  "This  land 
that  was  desolate  is  become  like  the  garden  of  Eden  ;  "  Joel  ii.  19,  "  Rehold 
I  will  send  you  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil  .  .  .  and  I  will  no  more  make  you 
a  reproach  among  the  nations,"  with  Ezek.  xxxvi.  30,  "I  will  multiply  ilie 
fruit  of  the  tree  and  the  increase  of  the  field  that  ye  shall  receive  no  nioie 
the  reproach  of  famine  among  the  nations."  Joel's  image  of  the  stream 
from  the  Temple  which  shall  water  the  valley  of  Acacias  (iii.  18)  is  clearly  sug- 
gested by  the  mystic  streams  of  Ezekiel  (xlvii.  i-i2)and  the  earlier  Zechariali 
(xiv.  8),  only  that  he  omits  all  mention  of  the  Ten  Tribes  (Exek.  xlvii.  13), 
which  had  practically  ceased  to  exist.  ^  Conip.  Psa.  Ixxviii. 


122  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

yet  should  be.  A  real  plague  of  locusts  with  all  its  loathsome 
and  desolating  horror,  gave  the  immediate  impulse  to  his 
prophetic  activity.  He  looks  upon  it  variously  as  a  day  of 
tlie  Lord,  and  as  a  precursor  of  the  day  of  the  Lord.  And 
what  should  that  day  be  ?  For  the  foes  of  the  Jews  a  day 
of  vengeance,  as  all  previous  prophets  had  prophesied  ;  for  the 
Jews  themselves  a  fulfilment  at  last  of  those  glowing  vaticina- 
tions which  none  could  regard  as  adequately  accomplished  in 
the  condition  of  a  wretched  handful  of  returning  exiles— who,  as 
the  later  Jews  declared,  were  only  as  the  chaff  to  the  wheat — 
under  a  Persian  satrap,  oppressed  by  tribute,  defiled  by  mixed 
marriages,  worried  and  thwarted  by  Ammonites  and  Samaritans, 
There  is  little  or  nothing  in  the  prophecy  which  can  be  fixed 
upon  as  literal.  As  in  the  Apocalypse— all  is  conditional,  all  is 
mystic,  all  is  ideal.  Literally  there  has  been  no  fulfilment,  and 
we  know  now  that  there  can  never  be  a  literal  fulfilment  of  all 
those  glowing  hopes.  Their  literal  fulfilment  would  involve  a 
retrogression  to  weak  rudiments  and  material  conditions.  But 
mystically,  but  ideally,  all  has  been  fulfilled  in  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel  ;  and  Christianity  was  the  symbolic  stream — of  which 
Joel  borrowed  the  conception  from  Ezekiel  and  "Zechariah"' 
— which  watering  the  valley  of  Acacias  should,  so  to  speak, 
prove  to  be  a  lustral  stream,  a  stream  which  should  wash  away 
the  stain  and  shame  of  that  worship  of  Baal-Peor  which  was 
not  only  a  type  but  an  actual  exemplification  of  the  lust  of  the 
flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life.^ 

Joel,  in  short,  is  a  prophet  who  dwells  on  the  elements  of 
Hope  and  Fear,  like  all  those  who  went  before  him.  He  taught 
the  lessons  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  all  moral  and  religious 
teaciiing — the  certain  reward  of  the  righteous,  the  certain  punish- 
ment of  the  wicked.  Such  lessons  are  eternally  true,  and  meet 
with  multitudes  of  "  springing  and  germinal  fulfilments."  They 
show  the  hand  of  God  laid  amid  the  crashing  wheehvork  of 
History.  To  feel  and  illustrate  their  reality,  and  in  spite  of  all 
the  terrors  and  confusions  of  society  still  to  hold  fast  to  a  per- 
fect Hope  in  the  ultimate  Mercy  of  the  Merciful,  was  to  exhibit 
the  faith  which  can  never  come  save  from  the  inspiration  of  the 
Almighty. 

The  prophecy  of  Joel  which  is  most  distinctive — though  not 

'  Ezek.  xlvii.  i  ;  "Zech."  xiv.  8. 

'  Num.  XXV.  I  ;  Jos.  ii.  i,  iii.  i,  xxii.  17, 


THE  BOOK  OF  JOEL.  I23 

peculiar  to  him ' — and  which  attracted  most  attention  at  the 
dawn  of  Christianity,  was  the  promised  outpouring  of  God's 
Spirit  upon  all  flesh,  alluded  to  by  St.  Peter  -  and  by  St.  Paul,3 
but  still  awaiting  its  final  and  universal  fulfilment. 

■   See  "Zech."  xii.  10;  "  Isa."  xxxii.  15,  xliv.  3,  liv.  13.     It  is  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  wish  of  Moses  (Num.  xi.  29.) 
"  Acts  ii.  16-21.  3  Rom.  x.  13.     See  Joel  ii.  28-32. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

MICAH. 

Incident  related  by  Jeremiah — It  shows  us  the  true  nature  of  Hebrew 
prophecy  —  The  heading  —  The  name  Micah  —  His  birthplace  and 
rank — His  denunciations— The  menace  of  Assyria — Style  of  Micah — 
Difficulties. 

We  fortunately  know  with  certainty  the  date  of  the  Prophet 
Micah.  Jeremiah,  a  century  later,  not  only  furnishes  us 
with  an  authentic  incident  of  his  history,  but  tells  us 
expressly  that  he  prophesied  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah. 
The  story  occurs  in  Jer.  xxvi.  8-24,  and  narrates  (as  we  have 
already  seen)  how  Jeremiah  saved  his  life  by  appealing  to  the 
precedent  of  Micah's  impunity. 

The  passage  quoted  is  M  ic.  iii .  12,  and  we  have  here  the  interest- 
ing facts  that  it  was  delivered  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah  ;  that  it  had 
produced — as  so  sweeping  a  menace  of  irremediable  destruction 
might  well  produce — an  intense  impression  on  those  who  heard 
it :  and  yet  that  Micah  had  been  protected  from  any  punish- 
ment or  molestation.  But  we  draw  from  this  incident  in  the  life 
of  Jeremiah  an  inference  of  far  wider  significance.  It  shows  us 
that  the  prophecy  of  Micah  had  been  neither  immediately  nor 
subsequently  fulfilled  ;  and  yet  that  the  moral  and  conditional 
element  of  prophecy  was  so  thoroughly  recognized  as  not  even  to 
suggest  any  question  as  to  his  credibility  or  prophetic  insight. 
It  was  held  that  the  prayer  and  repentance  of  Hezekiah  had 
availed  to  avert  the  threatened  doom,  however  unconditionally 
it  had  been  pronounced.  Few  passages  more  strikingly  illus- 
trate the  point  of  view  from  which  the  whole  genius  of  Hebrew 
prophecy  can  alone  be  rightly  judged. 

The  introductory  title  of  the  Book  of  Micah,  as  it  is  now 
ixtant,  says  that  he  (as  well  as  Hosea  and  Isaiah)  prophesied  in 
the  days  of  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judah.  We 
cannot  be  sure  that  these  headings  are  anything  more  than  the 


MICAH.  125 

gloss  of  an  editor  after  the  Babylonian  exile,  founded  on  tradition 
or  conjecture.  At  any  rate  there  is  no  part  of  the  extant  pro- 
phecy which  can  with  any  probability  be  assigned  to  the  reigns 
of  Jotham  and  Ahaz.'  There  is  in  many  passages  a  close  resem- 
blance between  the  language  of  Isaiah  and  that  of  Micah,  but, 
as  in  so  many  similar  cases,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine  which  of 
the  two  borrowed  from  the  other.^  If  the  picture  of  society  fur- 
nished by  Micah  is  gloomy  and  unsatisfactory,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  reformation  of  Hezekiah  did  not  begin  until  he 
had  been  for  some  years  upon  the  throne,  and  that,  at  the  best, 
it  was  of  a  partial  and  unsatisfactory  character. 

The  name  Micah  was  not  uncommon.  It  was  identical  with 
Micaiah,  and  both  forms  were  contractions  of  the  fuller  Mi- 
cajahu,  "who  is  like  Jehovah?"  3  When  Jah  was  ah  element 
of  any  name,  it  was  not  uncommon  to  give  it  an  abbreviated 
form  out  of  motives  of  reverence.  The  name  had  already 
been  twice  prominent  in  Jewish  history.  It  was  the  name  of 
the  Ephraimite,  under  whose  poof  the  young  Levite  Jonathan, 
the  grandson  of  Moses,  ignobly  served  as  an  idolatrous  priest 
for  a  few  shillings  a  year  ;*  and  it  was  the  name  of  the  brave 
prophet  who  alone  among  a  crowd  of  courtly  flatterers  had 
dared  to  tell  to  Ahab  the  disastrous  issue  of  his  intended  expe- 
dition against  Ramoth-Gilead.s  It  is  probably  due  to  some 
accidental  association,  or  to  some  intended  reference  to  the 
identity  of  names,  that  the  words,  "  Hear,  all  ye  people,"  are 
introduced  into  the  Hebrew  text  of  i  Kings  xxii.  28  as  the 
solemn  invocation  of  Micaiah  to  the  throngs  which  surrounded 
the  thrones  of  Ahab  and  Jehoshaphat  by  the  gates  of  Samaria. 
Those  words  are  not  found  in  the  Septuagint  Version  of  I 
Kings  xxii.  28,  and  have  probably  been  borrowed  from  the  later 


'  Caspari  tries  without  success  to  find  such  passages.  The  title  may, 
however,  correctly  indicate  the  reigns  during  which  Micah  lived. 

^  Ewald  calls  Micah  "  a  younger  contemporary  of  Isaiah." 

3  Jer.  xxvi.  18,  Heb.  margin.  The  name  is  borne  by  eleven  persons  in 
the  Old  Testament  (see  Caspari,  "  Ueber  Micha";  and  Simonis,  "  Ono- 
masticon).  In  Jeremiah,  according  to  the  Hebrew  text  he  was  called 
Micaiah,  and  this  may  have  been  his  actual  name  if  the  heading  (Mic.  i.  i) 
comes  not  from  himself  but  from  an  editor  after  the  Exile.  In  Mic.  vii.  18 
("Who  is  a  God  like  unto  Thee?")  there  is  a  sort  of  reference  to  th- 
prophet's  own  name,  which  may  be  accidental. 

*  Judg.  xvii.  ;  xviii.  s  i  Kings  xxii. 


126  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

prophet,  since  "  all  ye  peoples  "  would  hardly  be  suitable  for  the 
audience  whom  Micaiah  addressed. 

Of  Micah,  personally,  we  know  nothing  beyond  the  fact  re- 
corded by  Jeremiah.'  He  is  called  a  Morasthite,  and  this 
undoubtedly  means  that  he  was  an  inhabitant  of  the  little  town 
of  Moresheth-Gath "  in  the  Shephelah  or  low-lying  sea-plain 
of  Philistia.  It  is  probably  to  this  circumstance  that  we  owe 
the  introduction  of  the  name  of  so  small  and  obscure  a  place 
in  the  first  chapter  (i.   14}.^ 

We  see,  then,  that  the  position  of  Micah  differed  very 
widely  from  that  of  Isaiah.  Isaiah  was  of  patrician,  perhaps 
even  of  princely  bii  th.  He  could  speak  to  kings  in  a  tone  of 
something  like  equality,  and  was  familiar  with  courts  cmd  cities. 
Micah,  on'  the  other  hand,  was  a  provincial,  and  a  man  of  the 
people.  His  father  is  unmeniioned,  probably  because  he  was  of 
humble  lineage,  and  he  would  have  been  described  by  a  Jewish 
noble  as  Scipio  described  the  mob  of  the  forum — 

"  St !  Tacete  quibus  nee  pater  nee  mater  est."  * 

It  is  evident  that  his  whole  sympathies  were  with  the  humble  and 
tlie  oppressed.  We  see  in  the  first  three  chapters  that  his 
chief  moral  denunciations  are  reserved  for  the  wealthy  nobles 
and  the  worldly  priests,  some  glimpses  of  whose  lives  he  may 
have  seen  in  occasional  visits  to  Jerusalem,  and  whose  exac- 
tions were  felt  as  a  canker  throughout  the  provinces.  Samaria 
is  menaced  and  doomed  for  iier  idolatry,  but  not  so  Judah. 
Nothing  is  said  of  the  idolatry  of  Judah,  unless  it  be  the  allu- 
sion to  her  high  places  in  i.  5,  where  it  is  not  impossible  that 
there  may  be  some  later  gloss.s  All  the  prophet's  denunciations 
are  reserved  for  the  greedy  aristocrats  who  coveted  fields  and 

«  It  need  hardly  be  pointed  out  that  the  identification  of  the  prophet  with 
Micaiah,  the  son  of  Imlah,  by  such  late  romancers  as  Pseudo-Dorotheus 
and  Pseudo-Epiphanius,  is  not  only  unauthoritative  but  absurd. 

'^  The  name  means  "  Possession  ofGath." 

3  The  place  e.xisted  as  a  village  (viculus)  in  the  days  of  St.  Jerome 
(Jerome,  "Ep."  cviii.),  and  in  a.d.  385  there  was  a  "  miraculous"  di.scovery 
of  the  prophet's  remains,  and  a  church  was  built  in  honour  of  his  sepulchre. 

4  The  LXX.  renders  "the  Morasthite"  erroneously  here  by  tov  tov 
tAwparrOti  "  /he  son.  of  Morasthei  ;  "  but  correctly  in  Jer.  xxvl.  18  by 
i)  M wpoayinjc;.     Compare  "  N'nhuni  the  Elkoshite,"  "Elijah  the  Tishbite." 

5  For  the  LXX.  have  "What  is  the  sin  of  Judah?"  not  "the  high 
places"  ;  and  so  too  the  Pesliito,  and  tlie  Tarijum.  The  high  places  were 
removed  at  the  reformation  of  Hezekiali,  in  his  fifth  year. 


MICAH.  127 

houses  and  took  them  by  violence,  who  oppressed  widows  and 
broke  up  happv  homes.  In  burning  words  he  puts  to  shame 
the  all  but  cannibal  ferocity  of  selfish  oppression  practised  by  the 
princes  of  Judah  ; '  the  self-interested  flattery  and  lying  ignor- 
ance of  the  false  prophets;-  the  perversion  of  equity,  the  blood- 
shed, the  hireling  avarice  and  infatuated  security  of  the  priests.^ 
Never  did  any  prophet  before  him  assume  so  openly  the  attitude 
of  a  tribune  of  the  people,  or  threaten  with  more  inflexible 
plainness  the  certainty  of  the  coming  revolution.  And  since  it 
is  from  the  close  of  this  connected  prophecy  that  Jeremiah 
quotes  the  verse  which  had  struck  such  terror  into  an  earlier 
generation,  and  had  moved  the  hearts  of  Hezekiah  and  Judah 
to  penitence,  it  is  clear  that  these  chapters  are  a  description 
of  the  corrupt  state  of  society  before  the  earlier  reformation 
which  anticipated  the  more  lasting  change  wrought  by  the 
stricken  conscience  of  Josiah. 

The  certainly  of  vengeance  for  iniquity  was  among  the 
most  axiomatic  forms  of  prophetic  teaching.  But  we  shall 
be  prepared  to  find,  in  accordance  with  prophetic  analogy,  that 
the  general  law  was  emphasized  by  some  menacing  phenomenon 
which  was  already  visible  on  the  horizon.  The  resuscitation 
of  Assyrian  history  which  has  followed  the  decipherment  of  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions  has  shown  that  this  was  the  case. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  Micah  mentions  the  ominous  names  of 
"  the  Assyrian  "  and  "the  land  of  Nimrod,"  and  a  great  part  of 
his  prophecy  is  evidently  written  under  the  immediate  anticipa- 
tion of  successful  hostile  invasion.  Judj^ing  by  inferences 
founded  on  the  Eponym  canons  of  the  Assyrians,  who 
were  much  more,  accurate  annalists  than  the  Hebrews, 
and  who  never  contented  themselves  with  the  round  num- 
bers which  make  Jewish  dates  so  highly  indefinite,  we 
infer  that  Hezekiah  came  to  the  throne  about  B.C.  726  ; 
that  four  years  later  Sargon  succeeded  Shalmaneser  IV.  on 
the  throne  of  Assyria.  Sargon  reigned  seventeen  years,  and 
was  succeeded  in  B.C.  705  by  Sennacherib,  who  invaded  Judah 
in  701,  four  years  before  the  death  of  Hezekiah  and  the  accession 
of  Manasseh  in  697.  Who  Sargon  was  by  birth  is  unknown, 
though  he  talks  vaguely  of  the  kings  his  fathers.  It  is  not  im- 
possible that  he  was  a  general  who  conspired  against  his  master 
Shalmaneser,  and  he  was  himself  murdered  by  an  unknuun 
'  iii,  1-4.  ^  iii.  5-7.  3  jij.  9-12. 


128  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

a  .:;assin.  Certain  it  is  that  he  was  a  monarch  of  exceptional 
ciuelty.  Hois  represented  on  his  monuments  as  putting  out 
wah  his  own  hands  the  e)es  of  his  miserable  captives,  while  to 
prevent  them  from  flinching  when  the  spear  which  he  holds  in 
his  hands  is  driven  into  their  eye-sockets,  a  hook  is  inserted  in 
their  noses  or  lips  and  held  firm  with  a  bridle.'  Such  was  the 
conqueror  of  Samaria  who  early  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah  not 
only  conquered  Karkhemish,  but  also  came  terribly  near  to 
Jerusalem,  for  he  conquered  Raphia,  south  of  Gaza,  and  Ashdod, 
whose  miserable  sheykh,  named  Yavan,  had  refused  tribute, 
and  was  not  improbably  in  league  with  Hezekiah.  After  these 
victories,  however,  he  seems  to  have  devoted  himself  exclusively 
to  the  building  of  palaces,  and  until  the  discoveries  of  Assyrian 
remains  he  was  only  preserved  in  memory  by  the  incidental  and 
isolated  allusion  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah.'' 

While  Judah  was  still  corrupt  to  the  inmost  core,  and  when 
such  a  potentate  was  hovering  on  the  confines  of  her  territory, 
it  was  not  strange  that  to  the  vision  of  Micah  the  day  of  retri- 
bution was  near  at  hand,  though  for  the  moment  it  was  averted 
by  a  timely  repentance.  How  far  Sargon's  vaunted  conquest  of 
Judah  extended,  we  do  not  know  ;  but  at  any  rate  the  worst 
consequences  of  capture  were  deferred,  and  the  terror  of  a  just 
vengeance  evoked  a  timely  amendment. 

The  language  of  Micah  is  pure  and  classical.  It  stands 
between  that  of  Hosea  and  that  of  Isaiah,  but  its  affinities  to 
Isaiah  are  much  the  closer.  The  two  prophets  resemble  each 
other  in  style,  in  thought,  in  topics,  and  even  in  phrases,  al- 
though the  tone  of  Micah  is  more  that  of  a  provincial,  and  he 
does  not  touch,  as  Isaiah  does,  upon  the  foreign  politics  of  the 
nation  and  its  relation  to  Egypt  and  Assyria. 

But  the  prophecy  as  a  whole  presents  many  difficulties,  and 
the  uncertainties  of  interpretation  in  many  passages  have  not 
been  removed.  Even  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  the  Seventy 
the  state  of  the  text  seems  to  have  been  corrupt.  The  book 
-"  reads  like  a  collection  of  extracts.  And  this  is  even~rnore 
striking  in  the  original,  because  our  translators  have  intro- 
duced inferential  particles — du/,  then,  therefore^  notwithstanding^ 
where  the  Hebrew  has  only  aniV  ^ 

»  Sec  Isa.  xxxvii.  29.  »  Isa.  xx.  i.  3  Dean  Payne  Smith. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   BOOK  OF   MICAH. 

The  heading— Abrupt  character  of  the  divisions— I.  The  threat  of  judg- 
xnenl  — K\a.hoTa.ie  parofwmasias— Their  significance— II.  Guilt  and 
judgment— III.  The  promise  of  blessing— IV.  The  two  last  chapters— 
A  magnificent  colloquy— A  high  spiritual  lesson— The  final  hope. 

The  heading,  as  we  have  seen,  is  probably  a  later  addition.  It 
is  identical  with  the  headings  of  the  Books  of  Rosea  and  Isaiah, 
except  that  the  name  of  Uzziah  is  omitted,  and  this  is  a  valu- 
able indication  that  Micah  was  a  younger  contemporary  of 
Isaiah.  The  variation  of  the  name— Micah  instead  of  "  Micaiah," 
is  perhaps  a  sign  that  this  heading  is  not  original.  The  words 
"  which  he  saw  concerning  Samaria  and  Jertisalem  "  are  not 
veiy  descriptive  of  the  contents  of  the  prophecy  as  a  whole,  for 
Samaria  is  only  alluded  to  in  the  first  chapter,  and  there  only 
in  a  brief  and  passing  manner. 

The  book  does  not  lend  itself  to  precise  or  certain  division^ 
of  the  subject-matter.'  It  is  true  that  the  first,  third,  and  sixth 
chapters  begin  with  the  words  "  Hear  ye,"  and  that  each 
of  these  divisions  ends  with  a  promise.  In  other  respects, 
however,  this  division  does  not  help  us  to  find  our  way  through 
the  abrupt  transitions  and  strange  apparent  self-contradictions 
of  the  prophet.  It  seems,  indeed,  clear  that  we  are  here 
dealing  with  the  fragments  of  longer  oral  discourses,  and 
that  we  hardly  possess  the  remains  of  the  prophet  in  their 
integrity,  or  even  perhaps  without  additions  and  interpola- 
tions.^   That  the  two  last  chapters  (vi.,  vii.)  differ  in  tone  from 

•  Among  special  editions  of  Micah  we  may  mention  Caspari,  "  Ueber 
Micah"  (1851);  Cheyne,    "Micah"  (1882);  Ryssel,    "Untersuchungen," 

(1887). 

2  The  text  of  Micah  has  been  carefully  studied  by  Ryssel,  who  regards  the 
first  five  chapters  as  a  loose  collection  of  separate  prophecies,  possibly  by 
Micah  himself,  but  long  after  their  delivery. 

10 


130  THE    MINOR    rROI'HETS. 

the  Others   is  a   fact   which    has   struck  most  modern  critics. 
Ewald  divides  the  book  as  follows  : 

1.  The  Judgment  of  God  (i.)- 

2.  The  proof  of  the  necessity  of  the  Judgment  (ii.,  iii.). 

3.  The  Promise  (iv.  v.). 

4.  He  regards  the  two  last  chapters  (vi.,  vii.)  as  a  colloquy 
written  by  some  anonymous  prophet  of  slightly  later  date. 

Canon  Cheyne  prefers  a  simpler  and  more  general  arrange- 
ment of  the  book  into  three  parts.  In  i  (chapters  i.-iii.), 
threatening  or  gloom  predominate.  In  2  (iv.,  v.),  promise  pre- 
dominates.    In  3  (vi.,  vii.),  the  sadder  tone  again  prevails. 

I.  The  Threat  of  Judgment  (i.). 

The  prophet  calls  on  the  nations  and  the  earth  in  its  fulness  to 
listen,  for  the  witness  of  Jehovah  is  against  them,  and  He  is 
going  forth  to  tread  upon  the  melting  hills  and  to  cleave  the 
valleys,  because  of  the  guilt  of  Israel  and  Judah,  the  idolatry 
of  Samaria,  the  high  places  in  Jerusalem.  Therefore,  Samaria 
shall  be  made  a  heap  of  ruins,  rolled  down  from  her  hill  into 
the  valley,  and  her  idols  broken.  She  began  in  the  infamies 
of  heathenism,  and  shall  be  brought  to  the  same  infamies 
again  (2-7). 

Yet  how  can  the  prophet  refrain  from  lamenting  over  this 
doom,  and  more  especially  since  it  will  reach  to  his  native 
Judah,  and  even  to  the  gate  of  Jerusalem  ?  He  expresses  his 
anguish,  or  rather  relieves  its  tension,  in  a  series  of  parono- 
masias : 

"  In  Galli  ( Tell-town)  tell  it  not  ; 

In  Akko  (  VVeep-iow7i)  weep  not ! 

In  Beth-le-Aphrah  (Dust-town)  \o\\  thyself  in  dust. 

Pass  by,  thou  inhabitress  of  Shaphir  (Fair-town)  in  nakedness  and 
shame ! 

The  citizen  of  Zaanan  ( Alar ch- town)  marched  not  forth. 

The  mourning  of  Bethezel  (Neighbour-town)  taketh  from  you  its 
standing-place. 

The  inhabitress  of  Maroth  [Bitter-town)  is  in  travail  about  good, 

Because  evil  hath  come  down  from  Jehovaii  to  the  gate  of  Jerusalem. 

Bind  the  chariot  to  the  swift  horse,  thou  inhabitress  of  Lachisli  (Horse- 
town)  ;  ' 

She  was  the  beginning  of  sin  for  the  daughter  of  Zion, 

For  the  transgressions  of  Israel  were  found  in  thee. 


•  Still  called  Umm-Lakis 


THE    BOOK   OF    MICAH.  I3I 

Therefore  will   thou  (Oh  Zion)  give  dismissal   (farewell  presents)  to 

Moresheth-Gath  (  The  Possession  of  Gath). 
Tlie  houses  of  Achzib  [False-spring)  become  Achzab  (a  disappointing 

book)  to  Israel's  kings. 
Yet  will  I  bring  the  heir  (namely,  Sargon,  king  of  Assyria)  to  thee,  thou 

citizen  of  Mareshah  [Heir-town). 
Unto  Adullam  [the  wild  beasts  cave)  shall  the  glory  of  Israel  come  !  • 
Make  thyself  bald  (Oh  Zion)  for  the  children  of  thy  delight. 
Enlarge  thy  baldness  as  the  vulture, 
For  they  are  gone  into  captivity  from  thee  "(i.  10-16).^ 

This  passage  suggests  a  curious  psychological  problem. 
Unlike  the  description  of  the  advancing  host  in  Isa.  x.  28-34, 
it  does  not  mark  out  a  definite  geographical  route,  though 
it  mentions  certain  towns  in  the  hill-country  between  Samaria 
and  Jerusalem,  and  others  which  are  nearer  to  the  capital 
itself.  The  prophet,  contemplating  an  advance  of  the 
Assyrian  king  through  the  towns  of  the  Shephelah,  takes 
the  names  of  town  after  town  chiefly  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
his  own  native  village,  and  extorts  from  their  sense,  or  even 
rom  their  mere  assonances,  an  omen  of  mourning,  failure,  and 
woe.  Such  paronomasije,  though  little  in  accordance  with 
modern  English  taste  —  though  to  some  minds  they  suggest 
artificiality  and  childishness — are  yet  found  in  passages  of  noble 
and  solemn  import,  and  are  very  frequent  in  "  the  stately,  grave 
tragedians"  of  Greece.  They  would  have  had  a  far  deeper 
meaning  in  countries  and  ages  filled  with  the  conviction  that 
the  tongue  does  not  move  at  random  in  the  region  of  destiny, 
but  that  even  in  the  physiological  quality  of  words  there  often 
lies  a  depth  of  prophetic  import.  And  if  any  one  supposes 
that  real  grief  could  not  express  itself  in  forms  which  seem  to 
him  so  unreal,  I  would  refer  him  to  the  passage  in  which 
Shakespeare  shows  that  the  reverse  is  true.  When  King 
Richard  II.  visits  John  of  Gaunt  upon  his  deathbed,  and  ad- 
dresses him  as  "  Old  Gaunt,"  the  dying  Duke  replies: 

"Old  Gaunt,  indeed,  and  gaunt  in  being  old." 


•  Perhaps,  as  Cheyne  points  out  with  a  play  on  ad  olatn,  "shall  set  for 
ever." 

'  Reuss  says  that  the  effect  of  these  plays  on  words  would  be  as  if  a 
French  prophet  were  to  write,  "N'allez  pas  le  dire  k  Dijon  !  N'allez  pas 
pieurer  k  Ploermel  !    Pars  Paris  !   Chartres  attfele  ton  char  !  " 


>1 

132  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

Surprised  at  such  words,   King  Richard  asks,  almost  with  a 
touch  of  scorn, 

"  Can  sick  men  play  so  nicely  with  their  names?  " 
to  which  the  Duke  replies — 

■ '  No.     Misery  makes  sport  to  mock  itself." 

As  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy,  it  came  first  in  the 
invasion  of  Sargon,  who  (if  we  may  trust  his  own  annals)  cap- 
tured Samaria,  B.C.  722,  and  who  also  claims  to  have  conquered 
Judah.' 

II,  The  judgment  rendered  necessary  by  guilt 
(chap,  ii.,  iii.). 

i.  From  the  certainty  of  the  judgment  the  prophet  passes 
to  the  causes  which  have  made  it  inevitable.  He  is  a 
man  of  the  people,  and  he  finds  those  causes  in  the  crimes  of 
the  rulers — in  their  calculating  greed  and  covetous  oppression. 
Therefore  the  Lord  judges  their  evil  devices  by  devising  ruin 
for  them,  and  will  punish  their  oppression  by  bringing  them 
under  the  oppressor.  The  spoilers  shall  be  spoiled,  and  their 
land  be  divided  among  the  heathen  (ii.  1-5). 

ii.  The  false  prophets,  or  the  greedy  grandees,  are  indignant 
at  such  stern  vaticinations,  and  angrily  bid  the  true  prophet 
to  be  silent  (comp.  Isa.  xxx.  9,  10  ;  Amos  ii.  12  ;  v.  10),  and 
not  to  weary  them  with  these  incessant  reproaches  (ii.  6). 

But  the  prophet  indignantly  replies  that  he  cannot  alter  the 
eternal  purpose  of  God,  which  is  to  bless  the  righteous  and 
punish  the  unrighteous  (ver.  7).  He  therefore  pours  forth  a 
fresh  and  stronger  denunciation  against  those  who  strip  bare 
the  poor,  and  afflict  the  widows,  and  so  sin  against  God's 
glory.  Let  them  depart  from  a  land  which  they  have  polluted, 
and  which  should  be  their  destruction  (8-10). 

iii.  The  level  of  popular  and  successful  prophecy  had  now 
<  ome  to  be  to  prophesy  lies  ;  to  prophesy  in  praise  of  wine 
and  strong  drink  was  to  ensure  an  audience  (ver.  11). 

[At  this  point  the  thread  of  the  context  is  incomprehensibl] 
broken   by   two   verses    (12,    13),  which    read    like   a    sudden 

'  Perhaps  there  is  a  confusion  between  Sargon  (whom  tlie  Jews  had 
mostly  forgotten)  and  Sennaclu-rih  in  2  Kings  xviii.  13  (=Isa.  xxxvi.  i). 
See  Cheyne,  p.  14. 


THE   DOOK   OF   MICAH.  I33 

promise  of  restoration  under  some  victorious  king.'  Some 
have  tried  to  explain  these  verses  of  a  gathering  of  the 
multitude  for  destruction  ;  or  as  the  promises  of  the 
false  prophets  whom  Micah  has  been  denouncing.  If  the 
latter  view  be  correct,  the  verses  are  a  specimen  of  vivid 
dramatic  interchange,  and  they  represent  the  false  optimism 
of  an  interested  deceiver.^  It  seems  more  probable  that  either 
(i)  they  represent  some  later  marginal  gloss  written  originally 
at  the  side,  perhaps  from  some  other  prophet,  by  a  reader  who 
grieved  over  the  threat  of  doom — a  gloss  which  in  time  found 
its  way  into  the  text ;  ^  or  (2)  that  they  are  misplaced  from 
some  more  suitable  connexion.-*] 

For  in-  the  next  chapter  the  prophet  continues  his  remon- 
strance with  no  reference  to  this  intervening  clause,  and 
addressing  the  princes  and  rulers,  upbraids  them  with  the 
almost  cannibal  ruthlessness  of  their  grinding  and  defiant 
cruelty,  ending  with  the  menace  that  on  the  day  of  vengeance 
they  should  cry  to  God  in  vain  (iii.  1-4). 

iv.  Then  turning  fiercely  upon  the  false  prophets  once  more,  he 
upbraids  them  with  crying  peace  only  when  they  are  fed,5  and 
opposing  those  who  disdain  to  bribe  them.  Darkness  and 
judicial  blindness  should  fall  upon  them,  and  the  silence  of 
God.  But  Micah,  on  the  other  hand,  is  inspired  to  declare  unto 
Jacob  his  transgression,  and  unto  Israel  his  sin  '5-8). 

V.  In  the  next  burst  of  reproof  the  bloodstained  princes, 
the  hireling  priests,  the  bribe-taking  prophets,  in  all  their 
boast  of  heaven-protected  security  bred  of  religious  formalism, 
are  once  more  rebuked,  and  over  them  is  pronounced 
the  sweeping  exceptionless  prophecy  which,  as  we  learn  from 
Jeremiah,  produced  so  deep  an  impression  on  the  nation. 

"  Therefore  because  of  you  shall  Zion  be  plowed  as  a  field, 

•  It  is  only  "the  remnant  of  Israel"  which  is  to  be  restored.  Samaria 
li;id  already  fallen. 

^  Tiiis  is  the  opinion  of  Micluielis,  Ewald,  Hofmann,  Kleinert,  V. 
Oielli. 

3  C.  H.  Cornill  regards  these  two  verses  as  an  addition  made  during  or 
after  the  Exile. 

■»  This  is  the  view  of  Steiner,  who  places  them  after  iv.  8.  And  it  is 
true  that  Micah  himself  (iv.  6;  v.  3),  as  well  as  other  prophets  (Hosea  i. 
10,  11),  make  similar  promises  to  the  nation,  but  with  this  difference— 
they  announce  thai  judgment  and  repentance  must  precede  the  promised 
prosperity.  5  Comp.  i  Sam.  ii.  13-16. 


134  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

and  Jerusalem  become  ruins,  and  the  hill  of  the  temple  as 
heights  in  the  wood." 

But  sweeping  and  exceptionless  as  it  sounds,  the  prophecy- 
was  never  absolutely  fulfilled.  Like  all  prophecy,  it  dealt  with 
great  eternal  certainties  which  depc7uied  on  conditions.  The 
repentance  of  Hezekiah,  the  moral  reformation  of  tlie  people, 
partial  and  disappointing  as  it  proved  to  be,  was  yet  adequate 
in  God's  mercy  to  prevent  the  immediate  and  complete  accom- 
plishment of  the  doom. 

III.  The  Promise  of  Blessing  (iv.,  v.). 

There  is  a  distinction  between  the  false  utterances  of  pro- 
phets who  only  care  to  lull  to  sleep  a  guilty  society,  and  the 
promises  of  the  true  prophets,  who,  while  they  do  not  conceal 
the  certainty  of  retribution  for  sin,  yet  cling  to  the  ultimate 
hope  which  springs  from  perfect  trust  in  God.  In  these  two 
chapters,  Micah,  while  he  still  reverts  to  the  doom  which  is 
inevitable,  looks  through  the  darkness  to  the  golden  dawn 
beyond  it. 

He  begins  with  the  bright  picture  of  the  Messianic  days 
when  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established  at 
the  head  of  the  mountains,  and  many  nations  shall  flow  to  it 
(iv,  I- 1 4).  The  rhythm  and  beauty  of  the  prophecy  had 
exidently  caused  it  to  sink  deep  into  the  minds  of  those  who 
heard  it,  for  it  is  in  great  part  repeated  verbatim  by  Isaiah,' 
who  probably  borrowed  it  from  Micah,  unless  both  alike 
adopted  it  from  the  remains  of  some  older  prophet.'  It  is  a 
picture  of  triumph,  of  righteousness,  and  of  peace,  followed 
(6,  7)  by  the  distinct  promise  of  restoration  from  exile,  and 
specially  connected  (8)  with  the  glory  of  Migdal-Edar,  the 
"Tower  of  the  Flock,"  a  place  but  little  known,  which  lies 
between  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem, ^  and  was  probably  con- 
nected with  traditions  of  the  House  of  David.  It  is  true  that 
as  he  gazes  on  the  prophetic  vision  he  hears  the  wailing  of 
Zion  as  of  a  woman  in  travail.  He  does  not  disi^uise  the  truth 
that  the  deliverance  must  be  preceded  by  a  period  of  anguish, 
in  which  the  people  should  be  carried  to  Babylon  before  they 
could  be  redeemed  from  the  hand  of  their  enemies  (9,  10). 

The  mention  of  Babylon  is  surprising.     Unless  all  events  are 

■  Is.iiah  omits  verse  4  (Isa.  ii.  2,  3). 

'  This  is  the  conclusion  adopted  by  Ewald,  Hitzig,  Noldfke.  Kuenen, 

uuss,  Cheyne,  Hyssel.  3  See  Gt-n.  xxxv.  21. 


THE   BOOK   OF    MICAH.  135 

SO  foreshortened  to  the  prophet's  eye  that  intervals  of  time  are 
wholly  lost,  the  succeeding  verses  seem  to  promise  an  immediate 
triumph  over  insulting  enemies.  No  such  triumphs  took  place 
in  the  literal  sense  after  the  Babylonian  captivity.  The  only 
X.\\\x\'g  which  corresponds  to  them— and  that  only  in  the  glowing 
hyperbole  of  Eastern  poetry— is  the  deliverance  of  Hezekiah 
from  the  Assyrian  invasion,  and  the  humiliating  retreat  of 
Sennacherib,  though  even  this  could  not  be  literally  regarded 
as  a  fulfilment  of  the  words  that  Zion  should  beat  to  pieces  her 
enemies— even  many  peoples  as  with  a  horn  of  iron  and  hoofs 
of  brass  (11-13).  In  these  passages,  as  on  almost  every  page 
of  Hebrew  prophecy,  the  humble  student  who  approaches  the 
sacred  page  with  a  mind  untrammelled  by  conventionalities 
sees,  as  we  have  been  forced  to  see  so  often,  that  the 
i  language  of  prophecy  is  not  the  language  of  minute  pre- 
vision :  that  it  fortells  the  general  events  of  history  which 
happen  in  accordance  with  moral  laws,  and  expresses  the 
unshaken  confidence  of  righteous  souls  in  the  mercy,  no  less 
than  in  the  judgments,  of  God.  But  the  attempt  to  explain  its 
large  utterances  with  mechanical  literalness  can  only  be  carried 
out  by  casuistical  exaggerations  and  practical  falsification  oi 
genuine  history.  Nor  can  we  be  at  all  certain  that  the  mention 
of  Babylon  in  verse  10  was  not  the  addition  of  the  later  age. 
when  the  Old  Testament  Books  were  re-edited  after  the 
captivity.'  We  find  a  similar  interpolation  of  the  words 
"■p-om  Babylon"  in  verse  8  (rifter  "  the  kingdom  shall  come  ")  \n 
the  Scptuagint,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  how  such  a  marginal 
gloss  might  have  crept  into  the  text  It  is  indeed  possible  tha; 
Micah  may  have  anticipated  that  Sargon  would  transfer  into 
Babylonia  some  of  the  conquered  inhabitants  of  Judah,  as  he 
very  probably  replaced  by  Israelites  the  defeated  Babylonians 
whom  he  transplanted  into  Northern  Israel  (2  Kings  xvii.  24I 
Babylon  was  at  this  time  subject  to  the  Assyrians,  as  i> 
implied  in  v.  6.  We  are  told  in  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11  thai 
the  Assyrian  generals  sent  King  Manasseh  bound  to  Babylon 
and  even  Hezekiah  had  been  threatened  with  the  ultimat*.- 
doom  of  a  Babylonian  exile  (Isa.  xxxix.  6).  But  if  that  solu- 
tion of  the  problem  be  accepted,  it  still  does  not  fit  in  with 

«  This  is  the  view  of  Noldeke,  Kuenen,  Cheyne,  NowAck,  &c.  Stade 
thinks  that  large  parts  of  these  two  chapters  (iv..  v,)  are  later  tlia/i  the 
Exjlt 


136  THK    MINOR    PROPHF.TS. 

any  reduction  of  Micah's  words  to  a  mechanical  vaticination. 
For  he  goes  on  to  say  that  Zion,  deprived  of  her  king,  and 
brought  to  afifiiction,  and  cursed  by  her  enemies,  shall  rise 
and  stamp  her  foes  to  pieces.  In  what  sense  was  that  ful- 
filled as  against  the  Assyrians,  or  against  any  enemies  after 
the  Babylonian  captivity?  The  Jews  had  one  or  two  very 
moderate  victories  in  the  course  of  centuries,  but  tliey 
remained  on  the  whole,  even  down  to  their  destruction,  a 
people  politically  insignificant,  and  with  scarcely  a  shadow  of 
real  independence.  Since  the  repentance  of  Hezekiah  altered 
the  bearing  of  Micah's  prophecy  in  its  most  definite  and 
important  particular,  though  it  altered  in  no  wise  the  great 
principle  on  which  it  was  based,  we  are  naturally  led  to  the 
inference  that  the  events  which  were  described  as  the  sequel 
of  that  main  prophecy  were  also  modified  in  their  external 
and  material  aspects.  Events  were  mutable  because  they 
were  altered  in  accordance  with  man's  varying  deserts  ;  the 
moral  laws  only  were  eternal  because  God  changeth  not. 

The  transitions  of  Hebrew  prophecy — based  as  are  its 
extant  fragments  upon  the  epitomes  of  scattered  discourses 
— are  often  startlingly  abrupt.  The  promise  of  Zion's  triumph 
is  instantly  followed  (v.  1)  by  a  picture  of  her  humiliation  before 
a  besieging  conqueror,  who  smites  the  king  of  Israel  on  the 
cheek  ;  and  then,  without  a  pause,  there  follows  a  prophecy  of 
glorious  Messianic  prosperity.  For  a  long-predestined  ruler 
shall  come  forth  from  Bethlehem-Ephratah,  after  the  travail- 
pangs  are  over,  during  which  Judali  will  be  delivered  to  her 
•  enemies  (3).  He  shall  stand  and  feed  his  flock,  and  be  glorious, 
and  be  a  personification  of  Peace  (4)  ;  and  when  the  Assyrian 
comes,  Judah  shall  be  able  to  raise  against  him  seven  shepherds 
and  eight  princes,  who  shall  lay  waste  Assyria  with  the 
sword  (5-6),  while  the  remnant  of  Jacob  shall  be  as  a 
gracious  rain  among  the  nations,  and  shall  ramp  as  a  lion 
among  her  foes  (7-9).  And  then  there  shall  be  in  Judah  no 
chariots,  or  horses,  or  fortresses,  or  large  demoralizing  towns, 
or  sorceries,  or  pillars,  or  Asherahs ;  and  God  shad  execute  His 
vengeance  on  the  disobedient  heathen  (10-15). 

Thus  the  whole  prophecy  sweeps  through  the  phases  of  retri- 
bution, of  reformaii'in,  of  deliverance  dependent  on  relormaiion, 
and  of  the  acliievoment  of  that  de^iveianre  by  a  divinely- 
appointed  King.     A  H.l  in  M nah  wc  see  the  deepening  conviction 


THE   BOOK   OF    MICAH.  137 

that  the  Promised  King  shall  be  of  the  House  of  David,  and  sh.iU 
add  fresh  glories  to  the  insignificance  of  the  village  from  which 
David  sprang. 

IV.  The  Final  Chapters. 

If  it  ended  here  the  prophecy  of  Micah  would  be  complete  in 
itself.  The  two  beautiful  chapters  which  follow,  with  their  one 
specially  priceless  passage  (vi.  6-8),  transport  us  into  a  some- 
what different  atmosphere,  and  a  somewhat  different  style  of 
prophetic  writing.  If  in  the  earlier  chapters  we  have  the 
glowing  springtide  of  hope,  we  have  in  these  the  paler 
autumn  of  disappointment.  All  things  seem  to  be  worse. 
The  tone  is  not  that  of  Isaiah,  or  of  the  earlier  chapters,  but 
more  resembles  that  of  Jeremiah  or  Habakkuk.  All  things 
are  sinking  into  decay  ('vii.  i-6),  and  the  threat  of  vengeance 
becomes  once  more  terribly  severe  (vi.  13-15)  in  proportion  to 
the  openness  of  apostasy  (vi.  16).  Even  in  Jerome's  time  the 
chapters  were  interpreted  by  some  as  a  complaint  uttered  by 
Christ  Himself,  or  by  the  Apostles,  of  the  small  results  which 
had  followed  from  the  redemption  of  mankind.  Mucli  that  we 
find  in  these  chapters,  and  especially  the  descriptions  of  com- 
mercial dishonesty  (vi.  10,  11),  flagrant  idolatry  (vi.  16),  religious 
torpor  (vii.  2),  assassination  (vii.  2),  bribery  (3),  universal 
treachery  (5),  and  domestic  discord  (6),  do  not  seem  applicable 
to  the  days  of  Hezekiah.  Some  have  supposed — and  among 
them  Ewald — alike  from  the  difference  of  style  and  the  altered 
complexion  of  the  circumstances  that  they  are  the  fragments  of  an 
anonymous  prophet,  which  had  been  incorporated  with  Micah's 
prophecy.  If  there  be  no  proof  of  such  a  conjecture,  yet  certainly 
we  see  in  these  chapters,  as  Ewald  has  said,  "  the  effects  of  the 
cold  biting  wind  which  King  Manasseh  brought  over  the  kingdom 
of  Judah."  We  see,  too,  that  if  Micah  had  ever  looked  for  the 
near  fulfilment  of  his  promises  of  the  triumph  of  Zion,  he  must 
have  been  taught  by  the  course  of  events  that  the  day  of  that 
promise  could  only  lie  in  the  far  future.  But,  being  a  true 
prophet,  he  will  not  abandon  his  hope.  He  clings  to  it  amid 
the  storm  of  calamities  and  the  lurid  menace  of  the  darkened 
horizon,  and  knew  that  if  the  vision  tarried  long,  it  yet  should 
come  to  those  who  waited  for  it. 

These  two  chapters  take  the  form  of  a  magnificent  collocpiv, 
and  are  indeed  "the  first  prophetic  piece  of  a  purely  draiiuUic 
plan  and  execution." 


1.38  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

First  the  prophet  summons  the  people  to  come  and  plead 
before  God  in  the  presence  of  the  mountains,  and  calls  on  the 
listening  mountains  to  be  arbiters  of  the  controversy  (vi.  1-2). 

Then  the  awful  voice  of  Jehovah  appeals  to  Israel  as  to  the 
cause  of  his  apostasy,  reminding  him  of  the  mii^hty  deliverance 
from  the  serfdom  of  Egypt,  and  the  frustration  of  Balaam's 
sorceries,  and  all  that  happened  on  the  journey  from  Shittim  in 
Moab  to  Gilgal  in  Canaan,  that  he  may  acknowledge  the  right- 
eousness of  the  Lord  (3-5). 

Then  the  conscience-stricken  people  asks  the  most  awful  of 
questions  : 

"  Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  the  Lord, 
Bow  myself  before  the  high  God  ? 
Shall  I  come  before  Him  with  burnt-offerings, 
With  calves  of  a  year  old? 
Taketh  Jehovah  pleasure  in  thousands  of  rams, 
In  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil  ? 
Shall  I  give  my  first-born  for  my  guilt  ? 
The  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  expiation  of  my  soul  ?  "  (6-7). 

The  appeal  shows  radical  misconception  of  the  nature  of  God 
and  of  the  sacrifices  with  which  alone  He  is  well-pleased.  How 
should  God  be  appeased  with  sacrifices  when  all  the  beasts  of 
the  forest  are  His,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills?  How 
should  He  pardon  sin  for  the  sake  of  self-torture,  and  the  unjust 
immolation  of  the  guiltless  for  the  offender?  He  is  neither  to 
be  bribed,  nor — as  though  He  were  some  fierce  Moloch — to  be 
satisfied  with  blood.  Far  different  is  the  service  which  He 
approves  ;  far  purer  and  nobler  the  sacrifice  which  He  desires. 
The  prophet  sees  this,  though  it  is  hidden  from  a  people  steeped 
in  corruption  and  thinking  to  be  delivered  from  it  by  material 
offerings.  He  sees  that  Beneficence  is  the  only  acceptable 
ritual,  and  moral  integrity  the  one  Divine  requirement. 

"  He  hath  shewed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good, 
And  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee, 
But  to  do  justly  and  to  love  mercy. 
And  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  "  (8). 

It  is  the  high  spiritual  lesson  which  apostatising  churches  find 
it  so  hard  to  learn,  because  it  runs  counter  to  the  idolatry 
of  external  forms  and  functions.  It  is  the  lesson  so  firmly 
stated  in   the  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  and  by  so  many  of  tiie 


THE  BOOK   OF   MICAH.  1 39 

prophets  to  a  people  which  ultimately  developed  into  the 
most  perilous  extremes  of  unspiritual  formalism.  It  is  the 
lesson  taught  by  St.  Paul,  and  St.  James,  and  St.  John,  and 
St.  Peter,  in  every  Epistle  ;  and  by  Christ  Himself  to  Nicodemus 
and  to  all  whom  He  taught. 

When  the  prophet  has  uttered  this  great  truth  he  pauses,  and 
then  suddenly  cries — 

"  Hark  !  Jehovah  crieth  to  the  city, 
(Surely  it  is  wisdom  to  fear  Thy  name  !) 
Hear  ye  the  rod  and  who  hath  appointed  it  "  (9). 

And  then  the  Awful  Voice  is  heard  once  more  upbraiding 
the  guilty  people  for  scant  measures,  and  deceitful  balances, 
for  violent  mammon-worship,  for  lies  which  shall  provoke 
terrible  vengeance  of  spoliation  and  famine  (10-15),  ^.nd  for 
the  open  Baal-idolatry  which  shall  make  them  a  desolation  and 
a  hissing  (16). 

Then  the  Jashar — the  upright  man  who  represents  the  ideal 
Israel — or  possibly  the  prophet,  as  his  spokesman,  bewails  the 
diminished  number  of  the  good  amid  the  general  bloodguilti- 
ness,  selfishness,  and  corruption  of  justice,  which  show  that 
visitation  is  at  hand  (vii.  1-4)  ;  and  the  universal  want  of 
confidence  even  amid  the  nearest  and  dearest  kinsmen  (5,  6). 

Then,  as  though  the  judgment  has  already  fallen,  we  see  the 
righteous  community,  sitting  in  darkness  and  desolation,  but 
still  finding  hope  and  consolation  in  the  belief  that  God  will 
accept  their  submission  and  repentance,  and  will  vindicate  His 
name  upon  the  insulting  enemy  (7-10), 

Once  more  Jehovah  utters  His  mingled  doom  and  promise. 
Israel's  walls  shall  be  built,  though  at  a  far-off  date  ;  and  from 
Assyria,  and  Egypt,  and  the  Euphrates,  and  the  Mediterranean, 
the  heathen  should  come  to  her— but  before  that  day  could 
come  the  land  should  be  desolate,  because  of  the  deeds  of  its 
inhabitants  (11-13). 

Strong  in  this  promise  the  prophet  pleads  to  God  for  its 
fulfilment,  and  even  in  praying  expresses  his  assurance  that 
God  will  grant  his  prayer  (14-17).  He  ends  with  a  brief  lyric 
passage  in  order  to  close  his  varied  words  of  menace  and 
promise  with  the  music  of  untroubled  Hope  and  Faith. 

"  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  Thee  who  pardoneth  iniquity, 
.And  p,\sseth  by  the  transgression  of  the  remnant  of  His  heritage  ? 


140  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

He  retaineth  not  His  anger  for  ever, 

Because  He  delighteth  in  mercy. 

He  will  turn  again,  He  will  have  compassion  upon  us  ; 

He  will  tread  down  our  iniquities; 

And  Thou  wilt  cast  all  their  sins  into  the  depths  of  the  sea. 

Thou  wilt  perform  the  truth  to  Jacob,  the  mercy  to  Abraham, 

Which  Thou  hast  sworn  unto  our  fathers  from  the  days  of  old." 

(18-20). 

The  times  in  which  these  chapters  were  written,  whether  by 
Micah  or  another,  were  evidently  times  of  the  darkest  omen, 
but  to  him,  as  to  all  the  prophets, 

"  On  the  glimmering  summit  far-withdrawn, 
God  made  Himself  an  awful  rose  of  dawn.** 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

NAIIUM. 

Nahum,  his  name  and  birthplace— Unique  character  of  his  prophecy- 
Sketch  of  the  history  of  Assyria,  Tiglath-Pileser  I.,  Asshurnazipal, 
Shalmenezer  II.,  Sennacherib,  Esarhaddon,  Asshurbanipal— Fall  of 
Nineveh— Her  cruelty  and  brutality— Outline  of  Nahum's  prophecy- 
Its  fulfilment. 

Of  Nahum,  as  of  most  of  the  other  Minor  Prophets,  we  know 
almost  nothing.  When  we  have  said  that  Nahum  means 
"  Compassion  "  and  that  the  prophet  was  an  Elkoshite— that 
is,  in  all  probability  the  inhabitant  of  a  little  Galilean  village, 
which  in  St.  Jerome's  time  bore  the  name  of  Elcesi,'  we  have 
said  practically  everything  which  can  be  recorded.  The  name 
Capernaum  means  "the  Village  of  Nahum,"  and  some  have 
consequently  inferred  his  connection  with  the  town  on  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  which  was  "exalted  to  heaven"  as  a  witness  of  the  life 
and  miracles  of  Christ.'  Rabbi  Schwarz^  said  that  there  was  a 
grave  of  Nahum  about  an  hour's  journey  north  of  Tiberias,  but 
no  other  traveller  has  mentioned  it.  On  the  contrary,  a  more 
common,  though  equally  uncertain,  tradition  connects  him  with 
Mosul,  where  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  about  1 170,  saw  his  synagogue 
and  his  tomb.+  Perhaps  the  tradition  was  strengthened  by  the 
name  Alkosh,  a  place  near  Mosul,  which  was  long  a  seat  of  th  ■ 
Nestorian  Patriarchs.  Ewald,  accepting  this  tradition,  supposed 
that  the  prophet  had  lived  in  Assyria,  and  that  some  of  the 
curious  and  difficult  words  which  occur  in  his  prophecy  s  are 
of  Assyrian  origin  ;  but  this  theory  has  found  no  support  froK: 

'  Now  Elkozah  (Map  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  1880). 
'  Hitzig.  3  "  D.  Heil.  Land,"  p.  149. 

•»  See  Layard's  "  Nineveh,"  i.  233.     The  house  containing  the  tomb  is  a 
modern  building. 

S  E.g.,  Taphsrlm,  iii.  17,  and  Huzzab,  ii.  7. 


142  THFi   MINOR    PKOPHIiTS. 

tlie  independent  inquiries  of  the  Ciineifonn  scholars.  It  is 
more  probable  that  he  was  a  prophet  born  in  Galilee. ' 

Others  again  have  arrived  at  a  s;;uilar  conclusion  because 
they  supposed  that  Nahum  would  have  been  unable  to  describe 
the  doom  of  Nineveh  in  language  so  pictorially  vivid  if  he  had  not 
been  an  eyewitness  of  the  scenes  to  which  he  referred.  But 
though  the  battles,  both  within  and  without  the  gates,  are  depicted 
with  some  local  knowledge  and  with  broad  effective  strokes, 
the  historic  allusions  are  indistinct,^  and  there  is  no  more 
necessity  to  suppose  that  he  had  witnessed  the  destruction 
of  Nineveh  than  that  he  had  seen  the  siege  of  No-Ammon  or 
Thebes  by  Assurbanipal,  which  he  also  describes,  of  which 
we  only  know  historically  from  the  Assyrian  monuments. 
It  occurred  about  B  c.  664.3 

We  infer  from  his  prophecy  that  he  predicted  the  fall  of 
Nineveh  on  the  sure  ground  of  faith  in  the  Divine  righteousness 
which  governs  the  world's  history.  Further  than  this  we  can 
only  say  that  he  seems  from  internal  evidence  to  have  lived  in 
the  Kingdom  of  Judah  ;  and  that  from  i.  15,  ii.  i,  we  may 
suppose  that  he  wrote  in  the  days  of  Manasseh  when  the 
Jews  had  not  yet  fully  recovered  from  the  recent  Assyrian 
invasion.  Manasseh  (B.C.  698-643)  was  a  tributary  of 
Asshurbanipal,  and  during  some  years  of  his  life  was  a  prisoner 
in  Babylon. 

It  is  the  almost  unique  peculiarity  of  Nahum's  prophecy  that 
it  is  devoted  to  a  single  theme — the  destruction  of  the  bloody 
and  rapacious  City  and  Empire  of  Nineveh,  with  all  its  gods.  ' 

'  The  word  for  "  prancing  steeds"  in  iii.  2,  is  found  elsewhere  only  in 
the  song  of  the  northern  prophetess  Deborah  (Judg.  v.  22). 

"See  Dr.  W.  Robertson  Sinitli,  in  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica." 
G.  Smith's  "  History  of  Assyria,"  pp.  55,  70. 

*  Renan  has  some  forcible  remarks  on  Nineveh  :  — "  C'<!'tait  ia  premi6re 
apparition  de  la  force  militaire  dans  I*':  monde  ;  le  rdsultat  fill  un  dcspotibine 
brutal,  que  ne  parait  avoir  anime  ancune  id6e  morale  ni  religieuse" 
("Hist,  du  Pcuple  d'lsr.i"  454I.  He  adds — "  Di-s  kilometres  de  bas- 
rfliefs,  d'un  realisme  effra)ant,  nous  montrent  i  I'ccuvre  ce  vieiix 
militarisme,  avec  sa_  poliorcctiqiie  avanc(5e,  la  simplicite  <le  ses  id6es,  la 
barbaric  de  ces  moeurs.  La  cruaiitc  est  ici  coniine  ctu-z  les  Piaux-Rnuges 
mie  force  et  un  mobile.  Des  scenes  de  torture  sont  repr6se:itcos  avec 
autant  de  soin  et  d'amour  c|ue  des  scenes  de  vicloire  .  .  .  I.e  kui  est  le 
Dieu  veritable  .  .  .  or  on  est  bien  fort,  scion  celte  logique  de  s;iuvages, 
quand  on  voit  son  ennemi  ^corch6  vif  i  ses  pieds.  .  .  .  1^'empirc  assyrien 
parait  n'avoir  rien  fait  quedu  mal"  (Id.  455).     So  monstrous  an  ajiparition 


NAMUM.  143 

Of  the  sins  of  Israel  or  Judah  he  has  nothing  to  say.  Nineveh 
stood  in  the  eyes  of  the  Tews  as  the  most  brutal  type 
of  heathenish  abomination  (iii.  4),  and  it  was  the  special 
mission  of  this  prophet  to  denounce  and  describe  its  head- 
long fall.  And  as  the  name  of  Assyria  meets  us  so  often 
in  the  pajujes  of  Hebrew  prophecy,  we  may  seize  this 
opportunity  of  briefly  sketching  an  outline  of  its  history. 

The  name  Assyria  is  derived  from  Aiisshur,  which  in  the 
Accadian  language  means  "  a  well-watered  plain."  The  country 
occupied  the  great  region  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris, 
and  the  chief  cities  were  Hit,  Asshur,  Kaleh,  and  Nineveh.'  As- 
shur  was  the  name  of  the  supreme  god,  and  all  wars  and  cruelties 
are  ascribed  to  his  commands.  When  Asshurbanipal  cuts  off  the 
head  of  the  king  of  Elam,  and  cuts  the  limbs  of  his  enemies  to 
pieces,  and  gives  them  to  be  devoured  by  dogs  and  vultures, 
he  does  it  all  "  to  satisfy  the  hearts  of  the  great  gods,  my  lords," 
of  whom  the  king  was  regarded  as  a  priest. 

The  shepherd  kings  were  expelled  from  Egypt  about  B.C. 
1662,  and  Thothmes  III.  in  seventeen  years  fought  fourteen 
victorious  campaigns.  A  great  victory  at  Megiddo  opened  his 
path  to  the  Euphrates,  and  about  B.C.  1584,  we  find  that  a 
chieftain  of  Assuru  gave  him  tribute  of  cedar-trees,  armlets, 
and  lapis-lazuli.  In  this  campaign  he  also  conquered  the 
wealthy  Hittites  {Kheias),  from  whom,  besides  thirty- one 
chariots  plated  with  gold,  he  took  one  of  solid  gold.-  The 
Hittite  Empire  did  not  finally  perish  till  B.C.  700,  after  it  had 
lasted  3000  years. 

necessarily  evoked  the  most  strange  and  terrible  misgivings  in  the  orderly 
and  faithful  soul  of  just  Hebrews.  "  La  brutalite,  la  violence  devenaient 
maitresses  du  monde.  Ces  stupides  at  cruels  hoplites  qui  marchent  en 
rangs  serres  a  la  conquSte  de  I'Asie  sont  I'antipode  de  I'homme  juste  et 
responsable,  tel  que  I'auteur  du  livre  de  Job,  par  example,  le  conceit." 

'  See  Gen.  x.  10-12,  where  we  are  told  of  Nimrod  that  the  beginning  of 
his  kingdom  was  Babel,  and  Erech  (now  Warka),  Accad,  and  Calnch  ;  and 
tiiat  Assliur  went  forth  out  of  Shinar  {i.e.,  North-Western  Chaldea),  and 
built  Nineveh,  and  Ir  Rehoboth,  and  Calah  (Ninirud),  and  Resen  (A'escni, 
i.e.,  spring-head).  Nineveh  corresponds  to  Kouvnnj  ik  und  A'chv  V  tin  us, 
Asshur  to  Kalali  Sherghat.  Assyria  was  about  350  miles  long,  and  300 
broad  ;  as  large  as  Great  Britain. 

^  See  Menant,  "  Annates  des  Rois  d'Assyrie  "  (1876)  ;  Duncker,  "  Gesch 
d.  Alterth.  II.  302  ;  Sclirader,  "  Keilinschriften  und  das  Alte  Testament," 
450  ;  Oppert,  "  Hist,  des  Empires  de  Chaldie  et  d  Assyrie  ;"  "  Records  ot 
the  past ;  "  "Assyria,"  in  the  Story  of  the  Nations,  2nd  edition,  irfSS. 


144  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

We  have  no  narrative  Assyrian  inscription  before  R.C.  iioa 
Babylon — mentioned  on  the  monuments  as  Kur  Dunyash  ' — was 
at  constant  feud  with  Assyria,  but  in  1450  there  was  a  treaty 
between  the  two  countries. 

Kalah  (Larissa,  Birs  Nimroud)  was  built  by  Shalmanestr  I. 
before  B.C.  1300.  His  son  conquered  Babylon,  but  not  per- 
iiianently,  for  the  Babylonians  got  possession  of  his  signet-ring 
with  its  proud  inscription  "  Conqueror  of  Kur  Dunyash,"  and 
is  was  not  recovered  by  Sennacherib  till  600  years  later. 

TiGLATH-I'lLESER  I.,  about  B.C.  1 1  GO,  Conquered  the  Nairi 
(Kurdistan)  and  left  his  rock  sculpture  near  the  sources  of 
the  Tigris.  He  boasts  that  he  conquered  eighty-three  of  their 
kings,  and  strewed  the  mountains  with  the  corpses  of  their 
warriors.  *  After  his  wide-spread  conquests  he  became  a  great 
builder,  fortifier,  civilizer,  lion-slayer,  and  hunter  after  curiosi- 
ties. But  in  later  life  he  was  worsted  in  a  struggle  with 
Babylon  and  taken  captive. 

His  dynasty  seems  to  have  lasted  about  eight  hundred 
years  ;  but  for  some  two  hundred  years  alterwards  we  know 
nothing  of  his   successors. 

The  ancient  glories  of  Assyria  were  revived  about  B.C.  884 
by  ASSURNAZIPAL,  who  calls  himself  "  the  king,  the  lord, 
the  exalted,  the  revered,  the  gigantic,  the  hero,  the  mighty,  the 
stalwart,  a  lion,  a  destroyer  of  cities,  a  treader  down  of 
foes."  He  vaunts  his  unheard-of  savagery —how  he  dyed  the 
mountains  of  the  Nairi  with  blood  like  wool  ;  hovv  he  flayed 
captive  kings  alive,  and  dressed  pillars  with  their  skins,  and 
w,illed-up  others  alive,  and  impaled  them  on  stakes  ;  how  he 
burnt  boys  and  girls  in  the  fire,  put  out  eyes,  cut  off  hands,  feet, 
noses,  and  ears.  And  the  Assyrian  kings  always  profess  to  do 
this  "at  the  command  of  Asshur  ;  "  the  enemies  whose  tongues 
they  pull  out,  and  whose  limbs  they  fling  to  dogs,  bears, 
vultures,  and  eagles  are  always  "  enemies  of  Asshur."  He  had 
himself  represented  piling  up  the  heads  of  his  enemies.  He 
fought  ten  campaigns,  and  built  many  palaces. 

The  first  contact  of  Assyria  with  Israel  took  place  in  the 
reign  of  his  son  Shalmaneser  II.,  B.C.  860-824.  This  kmg 
was  the  incessant  drudge  of  his  own  military  greatness,  but 

»  Tts  original  Accadian  name  was  Ca-dimirra^  which  was  translated  into 
iu>  Semilic  oquivalent,  Bah-Kl,  "Gate  of  God  "  (Savco). 

'  He  boasts,  "  I  Iiad  no  rival  in  Vwtllc  ;   1  en'nrcrd  r.-.y  territory." 


NAHUM.  145 

details  his  brutalities  with  less  sickening  self-complacency.  In 
854  Hadidri  (Benhadad  II.)  of  Damascus,  with  the  king 
of  Hamath,  and  Akhabu  Sirlai  {i.e.,  Ahab  of  Israel),  and  nine 
other  princes,  aided  by  Egypt  and  Ammon,  and  all  united 
by  a  terrible  common  danger,  made  a  confederacy  against  him  ; 
and  though  he  claims  to  have  slain  20,500  men  in  a  great 
victory  he  seems  to  have  received  a  series  of  checks.  But 
in  842  he  frightfully  defeated  the  usurper  Hazael  and  received 
tribute  from  Jahua  (jEHU)  who  is  called  "  a  king  of  Khumri,^' 
though  he  had  destroyed  the  house  of  Omri.  This  fact  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  Bible,  but  Jehu  is  represented  offering  his 
tribute  of  gold,  silver,  &c.,  on  the  Black  Obelisk  in  the  British 
Museum. 

After  the  reigns  of  five  successors  this  dynasty  was  ended 
by  a  revolution  headed  by  PUL  or  Tiglath-Pileser  II.,  B.C. 
745-727.  This  king  was  an  organizer  as  well  as  a  conqueror, 
and  began  the  policy  of  deporting  populations  from  one  spot  to 
another,  as  also  the  use  of  subordinate  generals  (Tartan).  He 
took  Arpad  after  a  three  years'  siege,  and  received  tribute  from 
Menaliem  in  738.  Ahaz,  king  of  Judah,  bribed  him  to  take 
up  arms  against  Syria  and  Israel.  He  put  Pekah  to  death, 
aod  elevated  Hoshea  in  his  place,  but  deported  most  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Northern  Kingdom  to  Assyria.  He  routed 
Rezin,  took  Damascus,  was  waited  on  by  vassal  kings,  and 
received  the  submission  of  Merodach  Baladan,  king  of  Babylon. 
He  died  B.C.  727.' 

In  the  reign  of  his  son  Shalmaneser  IV.,  Hoshea,  king  of 
Israel,  relying  on  So,  the  Ethiopian  king  of  Egypt,  conspired 
against  Assyria  and  was  taken  captive.  The  siege  of  Samaria 
was  completed  by  Sargon  about  B.C.  722.  He  was  perhaps 
a  rebel  general.  After  various  conquests  over  Karkhemish, 
Ashdod,  and  other  places,  he  was  murdered  in  704  by  an  un- 
known assassin.^ 

»  In  an  inscription  of  the  year  738  he  says:  "  The  land  of  Beth-Khumri. 
Pakahiah  their  king  they  had  slain.  HusiH  I  appointed  over  them  to 
the  kingdom.  Ten  talents  of  gold,  1000  of  silver,  I  received  as  their  tribute." 
A  little  later  he  says  that  some  Arab  queen  Hed  to  some  and  place  "  like  an 
ass  of  the  desert"  (comp.  Hos.  viii.  9). 

*  See  Isa.  x.x.  i.  "  Sargon  I.  was  a  great  patron  of  literature,  and  caused 
the  books  of  his  Accadian  predecessors  to  be  translated  and  edited."  He 
conquered  Egypt  and  Philistia  in  719  at  the  Battle  of  Raphia.  He  claims 
to  have  conquered  Cyprus,  and  his  effigy  has  been  found  at  Idalium. 

II 


146  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

Sennacherib,  whom  Nahum  (ii.  i)  calls  "the  breaker  in 
liieces,"wasthe  first  of  the  Sargonidee, and  reigned  for  twenty-five 
years.  Hezekiah's  rebellion  against  him  was  made  in  reliance 
on  the  Ethiopian  Tirhakah,  whose  promised  help  gave  the 
.iscendency  to  the  war  party  in  Hezekiah's  court. 

Sennacherib  defeated  Tirhakah  at  Eltaku  about  701  ;  * 
pimished  the  rulers  of  Ekron  who,  on  revolting  against  Sen- 
nacherib, had  handed  over  their  king,  Padi,  to  Hezekiah  ;  over- 
ran Judab,  and  shut  up  Hezekiah  in  Jerusalem  "like  a  bird  in  a 
cage."  He  claims  to  have  received  from  Hezekiah  thirty  talents 
(if  gold,  three  hundred  of  silver,  with  precious  stones  and  other 
ransoms,  including  Hezekiah's  harem  and  eunuchs.^  These  were 
sent  to  Lachish.  Sennacherib,  after  capturing  many  towns 
and  villages,  sent  200,150  Jews  into  captivity,  and  despatched 
his  celebrated  embassy  of  his  general  (Tartan),  chamber- 
lain (Rab-saris),  and  cup-bearer  (Rab-shakeh),  to  Hezekiah. 
After  the  disaster  of  his  army  (2  Kings  xviii.)  he  returned 
home,  and  the  next  year  fought  against  the  Babylonians,  who 
had  revolted  with  the  aid  of  the  Elamites.  His  murder  took 
place  twenty  years  later  (B.C.  681).  The  two  sons  who  murdered 
him  were  ultimately  subdued  by  his  successor,  their  younger 
brother,  Esarhaddon,  in  680,  at  Khanirabat. 

ESARHADDON — perhaps  the  "cruel  lord"  of  Isa.  xix.  4 — con- 
quered Egypt  in  672,  and  set  up  Pharaoh  Necho.  He  has  been 
called  "the  noblest  and  most  gracious  figure  among  Assyrian 
kings,"  and  took  captive  Manasseh,  king  of  Judah,  whom  he 
carried  to  Babylon,  where  for  six  months  of  the  year  he  held  his 
court.  About  670  he  shared  his  throne  with  his  son  Asshur- 
bani-pal,  and  died  two  years  later. 

ASSHUK-BANI-PAL  ^  defeated  Tirhakah,  put  an  end  to  the 
Ethiopiandynastyof  Egypt, and  took  No-Ammon — Noof  the  god 
Amun — as  mentioned  in  Nahum  iii.  8.  His  description  of  his  own 
atrocities  is  complacently  cruel.  He  tells  us  how  he  tore  ofif  the 
hps  and  hands  of  kings,  and  compelled  a  prince  to  wear  round 

•  The  battle  was  not  a  decided  victory. 

^  In  an  inscription  on  clay  in  the  British  Museum  (Bellino's  Cylinder) 
Sennacherib  records  his  ruinous  overthrow  of  Judah.  "All  his  broad 
country  I  swept  like  a  mighty  whirlwind  ;  thirty-four  great  cities  1  ravaged, 
destroyed,  burnt  with  fire.  The  smoke  of  their  burning  likea  mighty  cloud 
obscured  the  face  of  high  heaven." 

S  "  S?  -danapalas"  seems  to  be  a  corruption  of  this  name. 


NAHUM.  147 

his  neck  the  decapitated  head  of  his  king.  At  his  triumph  he 
was  dragged  along  by  three  kings  of  Elam  yoked  to  his  war- 
chariot.  In  a  sculpture  now  in  the  British  Museum  he  is  repre- 
sented sitting  at  a  banquet  with  his  queen  and  gazing  on  the  head 
of  Nabubelzikri  the  Chaldean  king,  who  had  committed  suicide. 

But  these  last  acts  of  Assyrian  insolence  and  tyranny  met 
with  a  speedy  retribution,  and  heralded  the  irretrievable  fall  of 
the  bloody  city.  It  is  probable  that  there  were  only  two  more 
kings,  whose  names  are  uncertain.  The  great  Scythian  inva- 
sion, alluded  to  in  Jeremiah  iv.,  v.,  vi.,  succeeded  in  burning  the 
Assyrian  palaces  and  plundering  the  ruins.  But  Cyaxares 
massacred  the  Scythian  leaders  at  a  banquet,  and  the  army  was 
bribed  to  depart.  It  went  away  and  disappears  from  history. 
In  the  days  of  a  king  usually  called  Esarhaddon  II.,  Cyaxares, 
with  the  aid  of  the  Babylonians  and  Nabopolassar  their  rebel 
virceoy,  besieged  and  took  Nineveh  not  later  than  B.C.  608.' 

The  reason  of  the  fall  of  Nineveh  was  that  but  few  genuine 
Assyrians  were  left.  The  country  "  had  been  slowly  bleeding  to 
death  "  in  consequence  of  its  own  wars  and  deportations. 

What  wonder  then  that  "the  gates  of  the  land  were  set  wide 
open  to  the  enemies,  and  the  fire  devoured  its  bars  "  ?  "And 
thus,"  says  the  author  of  the  "  Story  of  Assyria,"  "with  his  own 
weight,  with  his  own  wickedness  and  folly,  Asshur  fell.  It  was 
a  grievous  fall  and  an  utter  fall." 

But  all  mankind  naturally  rejoiced  at  the  disappearance  of  this 
foul  and  horrible  apparition  which  for  more  than  five  centuries  had 
afflicted  the  nations.  The  Ninevites  live  before  us  still  upon 
their  sculptures  with  their  thick-set  powerful,  sensual  figures,  their 
calm,  settled  ferocity,  their  frightful  nonchalance  in  the  enact- 
ment of  diabolical  atrocities,  the  exuberance  in  them  of  all  the 
brutal  parts  of  man's  nature.^  They  thought  themselves  unas- 
sailable in  their  capital  with  its  1,200  towers  and  their  wall  a 
hundred  feet  high,  and  so  broad  that  three  chariots  could  drive 
on  it  abreast.  But  they  were  swept  away,  and  the  nations 
shouted  for  joy. 

Nebuchadrezzar,  who  founded  the  greatness  of  the  Baby- 
Ionian  Empire,  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  Cyaxares  the  Mede. 

Such  was  Nineveh.     Judged  Irom  the  vaunting  inscriptions 

•  The  exact  date  of  the  destruction  of  Nineveh  is  unknown,  but  took 
place  between  626  and  608. 

'  8ec  Kitto's  "Scripture  Lands,"  p.  50. 


148  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

of  her  kings,  no  power  more  useless,  more  savage,  more  terrible, 
ever  cast  its  gigantic  shadow  on  the  page  of  history  as  it 
passed  on  the  way  to  ruin.  The  kings  of  Assyria  tor- 
mented the  miserable  world.  They  exult  to  record  how 
"  space  failed  for  corpses  "  ;  how  unsparing  a  destroyer  is  their 
goddess  Ishtar  ;  how  they  flung  away  the  bodies  of  soldiers  like 
so  much  clay  ;  how  they  made  pyramids  of  human  heads  ;  how 
they  sacrificed  holocausts  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  their 
enemies  ;  how  they  burned  cities  ;  how  they  filled  populous 
lands  with  death  and  devastation ;  how  they  reddened  broad 
deserts  with  carnage  of  warriors  ;  how  they  scattered  whole 
countries  with  the  corpses  of  their  defenders  as  with  chaff  ;  how 
they  impaled  "  heaps  of  men  "  on  stakes,  and  strewed  the  moun- 
tains and  choked  rivers  with  dead  bones  ;  how  they  cut 
off  the  hands  of  kings  and  nailed  them  on  the  walls,  and  left 
their  bodies  to  rot  with  bears  and  dogs  on  the  entrance  gates  of 
cities  ;  how  they  employed  nations  of  captives  in  making  bricks 
in  fetters  ;  how  they  cut  down  warriors  like  weeds,  or  smote 
them  like  wild  beasts  in  the  forests,  and  covered  pillars  with  the 
flayed  skins  of  rival  monarchs. 

And  this  is  the  power  upon  which  Nahum,  filled  with  unshaken 
faith  in  the  Eternal  Righteousness,  is  commissioned  to  pronounce 
the  doom  of  God.  The  book  of  his  vision  is  appropriately  called 
"the  burden"  or  "oracle  of  Nineveh."  The  prophecy  natu- 
rally falls  into  three  great  divisions,  which  deal  with  God  and 
His  enemies,  the  Fall  of  Nineveh,  and  the  Guilt  which  drew 
down  the  vengeance.  It  may  also  be  divided  into  eight  strophes 
of  nearly  equal  length. 

I.  The  prophet  begins  by  laying  down  the  general  principle  that 
Jehovah  is  a  jealous  and  a  revenging  God,  who,  although  He  is 
slow  to  anger,  can  never  leave  crime  unpunished.  His  awful 
power  is  seen  in  the  storm  and  the  earthquake,  and  the  Simoom  ; 
how  then  can  the  guilty  stand  before  Him  ?  (i.  i-6). 
"^  2.  The  general  principle  is  then  applied  to  Nineveh.  God  is  a 
refuge  to  His  faithful  ones,  but  will  destroy ^^r — Nineveh — with 
an  overswelling  flood.'  For  is  He  not  Jehovah  ?  Are  not  His 
strokes  final  ?  Can  the  drench  of  drunkenness,  or  the  close  com- 

•  See  ii.  6.  The  immediate  fall  of  Nineveh  was  caused  by  an  inundation 
of  the  Tigris  (not,  as  Ktesiassays,  the  Euplirates).  The  account  of  Ktesias 
is  preserved  by  Diodorus  Siculus.  The  Tigris  was  outside  of  Nineveh,  and 
the  Khausser  ran  through  the  city. 


NAHUM.  149 

pact  of  His  enemies  when  they  are  folded  together  like  inter- 
twisted thorns,  save  them  from  His  destroying  fire  ? '  And  this 
blow  shall  be  final.  Had  not  Sennacherib,  who  devised  evil 
against  Jehovah,  been  mown  down  with  all  his  host  ?  ^  There 
shall  be  one  more  humiliation  of  Nineveh,  and  it  shall  be  the 
last  3  (i.  7-X2). 

3.  In  the  next  strophe  the  prophet  alternately  addresses  Judah 
and  Nineveh.  To  Judah  is  promised  deliverance  from  the  yoke  ; 
to  Nineveh  is  threatened  the  overthrow  of  all  her  princes  and 
her  gods.*  Judah  is  bidden  to  observe  the  approach  of  the  mes- 
senger of  good  tidings,  to  keep  her  feasts  and  pay  her  vows  in 
safety.  Nineveh  is  warned  that  the  hammer  of  a  foreign  foe, 
in  spite  of  all  her  warlike  preparations,  is  approaching  to  destroy 
her.  For  the  Lord  restoreth  the  excellency  of  Jacob  ^  as  the 
excellency  of  Israel  in  recompence  for  the  robbery  of  the  heathen 
spoilers  who  laid  waste  her  vines  (i.  13-ii.  2). 

4.  We  then  have  a  picture  of  extraordinary  vividness,  repre- 
senting the  siege  and  sack  of  the  city.  Outside  the  walls 
are  gathered  the  Medes  ;  their  shields  are  brightly  painted  ; 
their  robes  are  of  purple  ;  *  terrible  is  the  gleam  of  steel  from 
their  scythed  chariots,7  and  the  glitter  of  their  brandished  spears. 
Inside  the  city  all  is  confusion.  The  chariots  are  rattling  through 
the  streets,  and  flashing  hither  and  thither  like  lightning.  Then 
the  king  bethinks  him  of  his  nobles,  but  they  stagger  about 
as  they  hurry  without  order  to  the  walls,  where  the  mantlet 
of  the  enemy  has  already  been  prepared.^     It  is  too  late.     The 

'  Ewald  and  Hitzig  take  it  to  mean  "Though  they  are  compact  as  a 
hedge  of  thorns."  Nineveh  was  surprised  while  the  king  and  his  captains 
were  revelhng  (Diod.  Sic.  ii.  26).  Compare  the  fates  of  Benhadad  (2  Kings 
i.  16),  and  Belshazzar  (Dan.  v.  1-30). 

*  Sennacherib  is  probably  intended  by  the  Belial-counsellor  of  i.  11. 

3  The  true  rendering  of  i.  12  seems  to  be  "  though  they  (the  Ninevites)  be 
in  full  strength  "  (R.  V.,  not  "  quiet"  as  in  the  A.  V.,  which  gives  no  sense), 
&c.     The  rest  of  the  verse  is  a  promise  to  Jerusalem  (i.  14). 

4  The  last  king  of  Nineveh  was  a  great-grandson  of  Sennacherib,  to 
whose  murder  in  the  temple  of  Nisroch  there  is  perhaps  an  allusion. 

5  Not  "hath  turned  away,"  as  in  A.  V.,  but  "  bringeth  again,"  as  in 
R.  V.  ''  Comp.  Xen.  "  Cyr.,"  i.  3,  ^  2  ;  viii.  3,  \  i. 

7  Lit.  "  the  chariots  are  with  fire  of  steels." 

8  For  "defence  "  (A.  V.)  in  ii.  5  read  "  storming-shed,"  or  "  mantelet  " 
as  in  R.  V.  {Vined).  The  battering-rams  under  the  mantlet,  as  used  by 
besiegers,  are  represented  in  the  Ninevite  sculptures  (Rawlinson,  "Ancient 
Monarchies,"  ii.  470). 


I  5°  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

gates  of  the  streams  have  been  opened,  the  palace  is  in  com- 
motion ;  Hiizzab  the  Queen  '  is  taken  captive,  and  lifted  en  a 
chariot  to  be  carried  into  captivity,  while  like  a  flock  of  doves 
her  maidens  moan  around  her,  tabouring  ujron  their  breasts. 
The  populace  of  Nineveh  is  multitudinous  as  the  waters,^  but  it 
is  of  no  avail.  "Stand'  F*and  !"  they  cry  to  the  warriors,  but 
they  turn  not  from  their  neadlong  flight  (^ii.  3-S). 

5.  The  city  is  sacked.  "  Rob  ye  silver,  rob  ye  gold,"  shout  the 
Median  soldiers  to  one  another,  for  there  is  no  end  to  the 
mass  of  precious  vessels.  And  so  the  city  becomes  empty  and 
void,  and  waste  3  while  the  knees  of  its  inhabitants  smite  to- 
gether, and  all  loins  tremble,  and  all  faces  are  ghastly  with  fear. 
Is  this  the  lions'  home .''  where  is  the  great  lion  who  preyed  for 
his  whelps  and  struggled  for  his  lioness,  and  filled  his  lairs 
with  ravin  .''•'  The  hour  of  judgment  has  come.  The  voice  of 
Nineveh's  imperious  ambassadors  shall  no  more  terrify  the 
nations  !  For  God  is  against  her.  The  fire  shall  burn  her 
chariots,  and  the  sword  devour  her  lion-people.  Woe  to  the 
bloody  city  so  full  of  lies,  and  violence,  and  endless  robbery 
(ii.  9-iii.  i). 

6.  Fresh  chariots  are  rushing  against  herwith  whips,  and  clash, 
ing  wheels,  and  prancing  steeds,  and  glittering  swords  and 
flashing  spears  ;  and  the  heaps  of  corpses  are  the  only  encum- 
brance in  their  path.  For  the  city  has  deserved  her  doom  by 
her  harlotries  and  enchantments,  her  idolatry  and  greedy 
merchandise.  The  harlot  shall  be  stripped  and  spurned.  All 
who  see  her  shall  fly  from  her  with  a  cry  of  astonishment  for  her 
hopeless  desolation  (iii.  2-7). 

'  Nothing  is  known  of  the  word  "  Huzzab,"  which  the  Rabbis  suppose  to  be 
thequeun's  name.     Some  render  it  "  It  is  decided  !  "  actum  est  / 

^  The  LXX.  favours  a  slight  correction  which  would  mean  that  Nineveh 
has  now  become  like  a  pool  of  waters. 

3  In  the  original  there  is  a  play  of  words  biikah  itm  biikah,  um  bul- 
lakah.  "  Sack,  and  sacking,  and  ransacking"  (Prof.  Gandell). 

♦  Nineveh  so  completely  disajipeared  that  Xenophon  scarcely  recognized 
it  ("  Anab."  iii.  12),  and  Alexander  niarched  by  "  not  knowing  that  a  world- 
empire  was  buried  under  his  feet."  Lucian  wrote,  "  Nineveh  is  perished, 
and  there  is  no  trace  left  where  once  it  was."  Giobon,  cxlvi. ,  describing  the 
battle  fougiit  on  the  vacant  site,  A  D.  62,  says,  "The  city  and  even  the  ruins 
of  the  city  had  long  disappeared."  The  traveller  Xicbuhr  in  1766  passed 
over  the  site  without  knowing  it.  It  first  began  to  bt  revealed  to  the  world 
after  1842  by  Layard  and  Botta. 


NAHUM.  151 

7.  For  why  should  Nineveh  expect  a  better  fate  than  mighty 
Thebes  (NoAmmon),'  which  was  also  enthroned  upon  waters, 
with  the  sea-like  Nile  for  her  rampart,  and  with  Kush  and 
Egypt  and  Put  and  the  Libyans  for  her  allies  ?  Yet  her  children 
were  dashed  in  pieces  by  the  Assyrians  at  the  corners  of  the 
streets,^  and  her  nobles  sold  by  lot  into  captivity,  and  her  princes 
bound  in  chains.  So  should  Nineveh  lie  helpless  as  a  drunkard, 
and  her  fortresses  be  as  tigs  shaken  down  from  the  bough.  Her 
people  should  be  weak  as  women  among  her  enemies,  her  gates 
should  be  burst  open,  and  the  flames  should  devour  their  bars 
(iii.  8-i3).3 

8.  They  may  take  all  the  pains  they  can  to  prepare  for  resistance 
by  building  ramparts  and  citadels,  but  they  are  doomed  to  fire. 
Their  foes  are  like  devouring  locusts.  In  spite  of  every  effort 
their  multitudes  shall  be  scattered  with  their  princes  and  cap- 
tains *  like  locusts,  when  the  sun  shines  on  them  and  they  spread 
their  wings  for  flight.s  For  king  and  nobles  are  buried  in  sottish 
somnolence,  and  their  people  are  scattered  shepherdless  on  the 
mountains.  Nineveh  has  received  her  death-wound,  and  all  who 
hear  her  fate  clap  their  hands  with  exultation,  because  her 
wickedness  has  poured  over  them  like  an  unbroken  flood 
(iii.  14-19)- 

We  may  observe  that  the  Book  of  Nahum  furnishes  us  with 
one  of  the  finest  examples  of  Hebrew  prophetic  poetry  in  all  its 
lyric  beauty  and  pictorial  vividness.  It  is  less  directly  spiritual 
than  the  prophecies  of  Hosea,  Isaiah,  or  Micah,  yet  it  forcibly 
brings  before  us  God's  moral  government  of  the  world,  and  the 
duty  of  trust  in  Him  as  the  Avenger  of  wrong-doers,  the  sole 
source  of  security  and  peace  to  those  who  love  Him.*     "The 

'  Called  by  the  Greeks  Diospolis.  The  allusion  is  to  the  sack  of  Thebes 
by  Asshurbanipal  about  665  (Rawlinson.  "Ancient  Monarchies,"  ii.  203). 
The  king's  boastful  account  of  the  victory  over  Ur-damani  is  given  in 
Schrader,  "  Keilinschriften,"  p,  288. 

=  Comp.  2  Kings  viii.  12  ;  Isa.  xiii.  16  ;  Hos.  x.  14  ;  xiiL  16. 

3  The  remains  of  the  palaces  of  Nineveh  are  all  scathed  with  fire. 

*  The  word  rendered  "  captains,"  is  taphs'rim. 

S  The  verses  15-17  are  a  little  confused,  but  (i)  the  swords  of  the  enemy. 
(2)  the  multitudes  of  Ninevites,  are  compared  to  locust  swarms,  which  (i) 
devour  and  (2)  are  numberless.  "  The  heathen  conqueror  rehearsed  his 
victory,  '  I  came,  I  saw,  I  conquered.'  The  prophet  goes  further  as  the 
issue  of  all  human  conquest,  '  I  disappeared  '  "  (Pusey). 

*  Nah.  i.  7,  15. 


152  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

peculiarly  pathetic  element  in  this  book,"  says  Ewaid,  "is  the 
way  in  which  the  evident  danger  of  Nineveh  is  viewed  in  its 
relation  to  eternal  truths." 

Nahuin's  threats  against  Nineveh  were  remarkably  fulfilled. 
Before  the  year  B.C.  606  she  had  ceased  to  exist,  for  Jeremiah 
(xxv.  19-26)  does  not  mention  Nineveh  among  the  nations  which 
are  doomed  to  drink  the  cup  of  the  Lord.  Esarhaddon  II., 
whom  the  Greeks  call  Sarakos,  was  the  last  king  of  Nineveh. 
The  Medes  with  the  Babylonians  and  Scythians  first  rased 
all  the  surrounding  fortresses  (Nah.  iii.  12),  and  beleaguered 
the  city.  The  Ninevites  proclaimed  a  fast  of  one  hundred  days 
to  propitiate  their  gods  (comp.  Jonah  iii.  5),  but  the  city  fell. 
The  description  of  the  siege  by  Ktesias  accords  with  the  brief  allu- 
sions of  Nahum.  The  last  night  of  the  besieged  was  spent  in 
drunken  orgies  (Nah.  i.  10;  ii.  5),  in  which  the  effeminate  king 
set  the  example.  Only  at  the  last  moment  did  he  arouse  him- 
self to  give  directions  for  the  protection  of  the  city  from  assault. 
The  catastrophe  was  precipitated  by  an  overflow  of  the  Tigris, 
which  made  a  breach  in  the  walls  (i.  18  ;  ii.  7),  and  then  the 
king,  recognizing  his  destiny,  burnt  himself  alive  in  his  palace 
(iii.  15-19),  and  the  city  was  plundered  of  its  rich  spoil  (ii. 
10-14).  Itvanished  from  history  totally,  and  at  once — intheener- 
getic  words  of  Strabo  (xvi.  i,  3)  ij^dvicrQi}  napaxpi'iii'a — so  that 
those  who  passed  over  its  ruins  "saw  the  visible  proofs  of  the 
wrath  of  God.'  The  wrecks  of  its  former  splendour  began 
to  be  revealed  to  the  world  in  1842,  and  its  history  has  only 
been  slowly  recovered  during  the  last  twenty  years. 

*  Xea.  "  Anab.'  iii.  4,  7  ;  see  V.  Orelli,  p.  324. 


CHAPTER  XrV. 

ZEPHANIAH. 

Zephaniah — ^His  date-^His  style — His  object — His  characteristics — Dimi- 
nution of  originality— Outline  of  the  Book — The  Menace — The  Ad- 
monition— The  Promise — Conclusion. 

The  biography  of  Zephaniah  is  absolutely  blank.'  He  gives  us 
his  genealogy  for  four  generations  in  the  first  verse,  and  from 
this  it  appears  that  he  was  a  great-grandson  of  Hezekiah — 
apparently  of  King  Hezekiah,  and,  therefore,  a  collateral  descen- 
dant of  the  House  of  David.  He  also  furnishes  us  with  the  date 
at  which  he  wrote — "  In  the  days  of  Josiah,  son  of  Anion,  king 
of  Judah."  ^  The  title  probably  came  from  his  own  hand,  and  it 
accords  with  all  that  we  should  have  inferred  from  external 
evidence.  Josiah  began  to  reign,  B.C.  640.  His  great  reformation 
took  place  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  reign,  and  it  is  clear 
that  Zephaniah  must  have  written  before  it  was  undertaken  in 
full  earnest,  since  otherwise  the  dark  picture  which  he  draws  of 
the  condition  of  Jerusalem  would  not  have  been  justified.  We 
may  fix  the  date  of  his  prophecy  about  B.C.  630,  before  the 
destruction  of  Nineveh,  which  took  place  in  625.3  Josiah 
attempted  a  partial  reform  in  the  twelfth  year  of  his  reign,  and 
had  begun  "  to  seek  after  the  God  of  David  his  father " 
in  the  eighth  year  of  his  reign,  while  he  was  yet  young 
(2  Chron.  xxxiv.  2).  Hence,  Zephaniah  only  speaks  of  "  the 
remnant  of  Baal "  (i.  4),  and  implies  that  many  still  paid  a 
nominal  worship  to  Jehovah.  We  might  be  surprised  that  when 
the  Book  of  the  Law  was  found  (2  Kings  xxii.  8),  Josiah  sent  to 
the  prophetess  Huldah,  and  not  to  Zephaniah.     But  we  do  not 

'  The  name  means  ''one  whom  Jehovah  hides"  (comp.  Psa.  xxvii.  3). 
It  occurs  as  the  name  of  "the  second  priest,"  or  rather,  "a  priest  of  the 
second  order,"  in  2  Kings  xxv.  18.  An  apocryphal  prophecy  assigned  to 
him  was  extant  in  the  second  century  (Clem.  Alex.  "  Strom.,"  v.  11,  \  78) 

*  About  B.C.  642-610.  3  For  Nineveh  is  threatened  in  ii.  13. 


154  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

know  at  what  age  he  began  to  prophesy,  and  by  that  time  he 
may  have  been  dead. 

The  style  of  Zephaniah  is  forcible,"  but  his  prophetic  message 
is  far  less  definite  than  that  of  Isaiah.  Isaiah  wrote  under  the 
pressure  of  immense  political  events,  and  deals  directly  with  the 
Assyrian  invasion.  The  menaces  of  Zephaniah  are  vague  and 
general.  Jerusalem  and  the  surrounding  heathen  nations  shall 
all  be  punished  for  their  iniquities,  but  he  does  not  say  who  the 
avenger  shall  be.  No  name  is  given  to  the  foreign  conquerors 
who  are  to  inflict  the  judgment  of  God.  Ewald  supposes  with 
confidence  that  the  prophet  was  thinking  of  the  great  invasion 
of  Scythians,  who,  according  to  Herodotus,  marched  against 
Nineveh,  interrupted  its  blockade  by  the  Medes,  overran  Asia 
Minor  (of  which  Herodotus  says  that  they  were  masters  for 
twenty-eight  years),  and  advanced   by  sea  as   far  as   Egypt.* 

The  historic  notices  of  these  invaders  are  later  than  the  date 
at  which  Zephaniah  wrote,  but  rumours  had,  perhaps,  reached 
Jerusalem  of  threatened  convulsions  from  some  great  movement 
of  the  nations. 

Probably,  however,  Zephaniah  neither  intended  nor  desired 
to  be  definite.  He,  too,  is  the  prophet  of  inevitable  laws  ;  an 
announcer  of  that  light  which  shines  so  quietly,  but  ultimately 
reveals  all  things  "  in  the  slow  history  of  their  ripening."  All 
the  Hebrew  prophets  have  certain  great  fundamental  ideas  in 
common.  Even  Isaiah,  original  as  he  is,  sometimes  echoes  the 
phrases  of  Amos  and  Hosea  ;  and  Jeremiah  frequently  borrows 
or  adapts  the  expressions  of  his  predecessors.  Zephaniah,  whose 
prophecy  is  more  secondary  and  reproductive,  borrows  not  only 
principles  but  details.  He  assumes  that  history  will  repeat 
itself  in  fresh  catastrophes,  followed  by  new  reformations  and 
restorations,  since  the  calamity  of  the  Ninevite  invasion  had  not 
produced  a  genuine  reform,  and  the  deliverance  then  promised 
was  still  incomplete.  His  eschatology  is  spiritual  and  ethical  ; 
and  he  predicts,  not  only  the  vindication  of  righteousness,  but 
the  triumph  of  Jehovah's  love.     But  his  book  is  on  the  model 

•  See  the  fine  p.assages,  ii.  13-15,  iii.  14-17  ;  and  there  are  many  striking 
phrases,  as  in  i.  12,  ii.  11,  iii.  5-9. 

'  "Herodotus"  i.  15,  103-106;  iv.  10-12.  Ewald,  "Hist,  of  Israel," 
iii.  "  Dichtcr  des  A.  B."  i.  196  (on  I'sa.  lix).  Duncker,  "Gesch.  d.  Alt.," 
ii.  464.  This  opinion  is  rejected  by  Nokleke  (Schenkel's  "  Bibe).  Lex."  iii. 
388),  Kcil  on  Jer.  iv.  5,  &c.  Some  have  seen  in  the  name  Scythopolis 
(Betbshan),  a  trace  of  this  movement. 


ZEPHANIAH.  155 

of  those  left  by  his  predecessors.  Threatening,  exhortation, 
and  promise  are  interwoven  with  triple  strands  into  his  pages 
as  into  theirs. 

"  With  the  prophet  Zephaniah,"  says  Ewald,  "  we  meet  for 
the  first  time  a  considerable  diminution  of  prophetic  originality; 
he  repeats  a  good  deal,  almost  verbally,  from  older  prophets  ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  style  is  sometimes  very  ornate  and 
pointed  (ii.  i,  2  ;  iii.  11-18).  What  is  new  is  especially  the 
extended  survey  of  all  lands  and  nations,  and  the  general  review 
of  the  spiritual  affairs  and  prospects  of  the  whole  earth,  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  being  only  incidentally  foretold.  We 
see  that  the  small  separate  nation,  with  its  ancient  national  dis- 
tinctions, must  necessarily  lose  itself  more  and  more  in  the 
general  life  of  the  nations  of  the  earth  ;  whilst,  nevertheless,  the 
truths  which  had  lived  in  it  remain  the  same,  and  gain  ever 
greater  validity  in  and  through  all  nations." 

The  general  outline  of  the  book  is  very  simple.  In  the  first 
chapter  the  prophet  announces  a  great  day  of  the  wrath  of  the 
Lord  (i.  1-18).  He  then  calls  upon  the  various  peoples,  and 
especially  upon  Jerusalem,  to  repent,  mingling  his  appeals  with 
stern  denunciations  of  judgment  (ii.  i-iii.  7).  Finally,  he  pro- 
mises to  the  nations  generally,  and  specially  to  Zion,  a  day  of  re- 
storation, and  calls  on  them  to  rejoice  in  the  coming  deliverance. 

I.  The  Menace  (i.  1-18). 

After  the  heading  (i.  i),  he  opens  with  a  singularly  sweeping 
threat  :  "  I  will  utterly  consume  all  things  from  off  the  earth, 
saith  the  Lord"  (i.  2).  Man  and  beast,  bird  and  fish,  man  and 
his  idols  shall  alike  be  cut  off  (ver.  3).  Then  the  curse  rushes  down 
specifically  upon  Judah  and  Jerusalem  for  their  idolatry.  Three 
classes  of  false  worshippers  shall  perish,  namely,  (i)  Idolaters  ; 
the  remnant  of  Baal  -  worshippers,  the  Cheinariin,^  i.e.,  the 
black-robed  unlawful  priests,  together  with  the  unworthy  priests 
of  Jehovah  {Kohafttin),  and  those  who  bow  down  to  the  stars 
upon  the  housetops  (vers.  4,  5)  ;  (2)  Waverers  :  those  who 
mingle  their  oaths  to  Jehovah  with  oaths  to  their  Moloch  (ver. 
5)  ;  and  (3)  Apostates  and  open  despisers  of  Jehovah  (ver.  6). 
Be  still  before  Jehovah,  for  the  day  is  near  ;  He  has  prepared 
a  sacrifice,  and  consecrated  tliem  that  are  called  to  it,  those 
namely  who  are  to  slay  the  victims.^ 

•  The  same  word  is  used  in  2  Kings  xxiii.  5  ;  Hos.  x.  5. 
'  Conip.  Isa.  xiii.  3. 


156  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

On  that  clay  will  God  punish  all  the  ministers  of  violence  and 
deceit,  whether  high  or  low.'  The  enemy  shall  enter  from  the 
north  by  the  fish  gate,  and  a  cry  of  terror  shall  roll  before  him 
from  the  new  quarters  of  the  city,  and  from  the  surrounding 
hills.  The  inhabitants  of  Maktesh  (the  Mortar) — a  region  of 
the  city  so-called — are  bidden  to  howl  because  the  money- 
makers and  the  traders,  here  (perhaps  contemptuously)  called 
Canaanites,  are  cut  off  (vers.  9-1 1).  God  will  search  Jerusalem 
with  lamps,  and  the  rich  men  who  have  settled  on  their  lees 
and  deny  the  providence  of  God  shall  be  punished.  Their 
goods  shall  become  a  booty,  their  lands  and  houses  a  desolation 
(vers.  12,  13). 

Yes,  the  day  is  near.  The  heroes  wail,  for  it  is  a  day  of  dis- 
tress and  darkness,  and  trumpets  and  siege  (vers.  14-16),  in 
which  they  shall  stagger  like  blind  men,  and  be  destroyed,  and 
their  silver  and  gold  shall  perish  with  them  in  the  universal 
conflagration  (vers.  17,  18). 

II.  The  Admonition  (ii.  i-iii.  7). 

Turn  pale,  ye  that  never  turned  pale  before  !  •  Swift  as  the 
rolling  chaff  before  the  wind  the  day  comes  on,  and  there  is 
still  time  for  the  meek,  the  just,  and  the  humble  to  escape 
(ii.  1-3).  And  how  deep  is  the  need  for  the  warning  !  The 
small  neighbouring  states — Gaza,  Ashdod,  Ashkelon,  Ekron  ; 
the  Cherethites,  Canaan,  Philistia,  are  all  threatened  by  the 
impending  ruin  (vers.  4-7).^  Moab,  too,  and  Ammon  shall 
be  visited  for  their  scorn  and  pride  towards  the  Lord's  people, 
to  whom  their  lands  shall  be  forfeited  (vers.  8-10).     Their  idols 

•  "  Every  one  who  springeth  over  the  threshold  "  (9)  is  usually  explained 
to  mean  the  worshippers  of  Uagon,  with  reference  to  the  fact  (i  Sam,  v.  5) 
tliat  his  priests  never  stepped  on  — 

"  the  gninsel  edge 
Where  he  fell  flat,  and  shamed  his  woi.liippers." 

But  the  context  and  the  phrase  seem  rather  to  point  to  thieves  and  dis- 
honest royal  servants,  who  enter  houses  with  violence  to  extort  and  to 
suppress. 

'  The  meaning  of  this  verse  is  most  uncertain.  It  may  be,  "  Set  your- 
selves to  be  ashamed  ;  yea,  be  ashamed  (Cheyne.  Comp.  Isa.  xlvi.  8),  oh 
nation  that  turneth  not  pale."  The  "  O  nation  not  desired  "  of  the  A.  V. 
is  rendered  in  the  LXX.  by  'V.Qt'og  airui^i-VTOv. 

3  In  the  original  there  is  a  play  or  assonance  on  .some  of  these  names  of 
peoples,  and  the  punishment  threatened  to  them,  e.g.,  Azzah,  azubah; 
liqron,  tcaquer  (V.  Orelli  renders  Gaza,  vergessene ;  Ekron,  ausgeackerl). 


ZEPHANIAH.  157 

shall  be  shattered,  that  all  the  isles  of  the  heathen  may  do  Him 
homage  (ver.  11).  The  Ethiopians  also  and  the  Assyrians  shall 
be  smitten,  and  Nineveh  shall  be  a  desolation  ;  "  pelicans  and 
hedgehogs  shall  pass  the  night  upon  her  capitals,  the  owl  will 
sing  in  the  window,  the  crow  upon  the  threshold,  *  Crushed, 
desolated.'"  In  spite  of  all  her  joyous  haughtiness,  every  one 
who  passes  by  her  shall  hiss  and  wag  his  hand  (vers.  12-15). 

And  shall  Jerusalem  escape  ?  No  !  Woe  to  the  rebellious, 
polluted  city,  her  fierce  princes,  her  ravening  judges,  her 
treacherous  prophets,  her  hypocritic  priests  (iii.  1-4).  For  God 
is  just,  and  His  judgments  on  the  heathen  were  meant  as  warn- 
ings to  her,  but  she  paid  no  heed  to  them  (vers.  5-7). 

III.  The  Promise  (iii.  8-20). 

But  there  is  a  remnant  of  the  faithful,  and  what  must  they 
do  ?  They  must  wait  with  patience  till  the  terrible  judgment 
of  the  wicked  nations  is  overpast.  After  that,  they  all  shall  call 
upon  Jehovah  in  a  pure  language,  and  suppliants  shall  be 
brought  to  Him  as  a  pure  offering,  even  from  beyond  the 
rivers  of  Ethiopia '  (vers.  8-10).  Then  the  day  of  shame  and 
of  arrogance  on  God's  holy  mountain  shall  be  over,  and  the 
remnant  of  the  meek  and  humble  nation  shall  be  just  and  truth- 
ful, and  shall  lie  down,  none  making  them  afraid  (vers.  11-13). 

Rejoice,  then,  O  Zion  !  thy  punishment  is  ended,  thine  enemy 
cast  out,  thy  King  is  in  the  midst  of  thee,  even  Jehovah,  and 
He  will  love  thee  (vers.  14-17).  Now  she  may  be  a  reproach, 
but  then  shall  Jehovah  gather  and  settle  her  children,  and  make 
them  a  name  and  a  praise  among  all  nations  of  the  earth 
(vers.  18-20).^ 

Thus,  with  a  general  picture  of  the  Messianic  days,  but  with 
no  special  mention  of  the  Messianic  King,  the  prophet  ends. 
His  view  is  comprehensive,  and  he  attaches  deep  impor- 
tance to  external  worship,  but  his  style  is  not  original,  and 
the  present  arrangement  of  his  prophecies  is  somewhat  dis- 
jointed. His  book  can  hardly  be  reckoned  among  the  highest 
expressions  of  the  spirit  of  Hebrew  prophecy,  still  less  can  it  be 
called  (with  Bucer)  "  a  compendium  of  all  prophecy."     His  de- 

•  Literally,  "  I  will  turn  to  the  nations  a  pure  lip,  that  they  may  all  call 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  with  one  shoulder,  and  from  beyond  the  rivers  of 
Ethiopia  shall  they  bring  My  suppliants,  even  the  daughter  of  My  dispersed, 
as  an  oftering  unto  Me." 

*  Some  critics  see  in  this  psalm  a  later  addition. 


158  THE  MINOR  PROPHETS. 

nunciations  are  singularly  bitter,  as,  for  instance,  when  he 
speaks  of  Jerusalem  as  a  rebellious,  polluted,  and  oppressing 
city  (iii.  i)  ;  and  singularly  sweeping,  as  when  he  says  that  "all 
the  earth  shall  be  devoured  with  the  fire  of  My  jealousy,  saith 
the  Lord"  (iii.  8).  He  includes  the  Philistines  (ii.  4),  Moab, 
Amnion  (ii.  8),  Ethiopia  (ii.  12),  and  even  Assyria  and 
Nineveh  (ii.  13),  as  well  as  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  in  the 
wide  sweep  of  that  threatened  wrath  ;  and,  although  they  are 
promised  an  ultimate  deliverance,  it  is  only  after  terrible  ven- 
geance (ii.  ii-iii.  8).  The  prophets,  like  all  other  men,  felt  the 
influence  of  the  period  in  which  they  lived,  and  Zephaniah's 
conviction  of  urgent  peril  may  have  been  deepened  by  rumours 
of  the  Scythians,  who,  as  is  evident  from  allusions  in  Jeremiah 
and  Ezekiel,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  imagination  of  the 
Jews.  The  resistless  power  of  these  northern  barbarians  seemed 
to  threaten  universal  ruin  ;  but  the  Messianic  days  which  are  to 
follow  shall  include  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the  Chosen  People 
(iii.  9,  10,  14-20).  And  thus  there  is  a  loving  purpose  even  ia 
God's  severest  judgments. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HABAKKUK. 

The  name  Habakkuk— Perhaps  a  Levite— His  date— His  eminence  and 
originality — His  book-  The  complaint — The  oracle— Its  deep  signifi- 
cance— The  Paean — Legends. 

The  peculiar  name  Habakkuk  (LXX.  'A/j^aKovfi)  seems  to  mean 
" embraced "  or  "pressed  to  the  heart,"  a  name  which  might 
not  unnaturally  have  been  bestowed  upon  a  dearly  loved  child. 
This  seems  to  be  the  connotation  of  the  word  rather  than  that 
of  "wrestler" — luctator  fortis  et  rigidiis—yN\\\c\v  is  given  to 
it  by  St.  Jerome  ;  or  that  of  "  one  who  presses  to  the  heart " 
(Herzer),  given  to  it  by  Luther.  He  says  that  it  is  a  suitable 
name  for  one  who,  as  it  were,  takes  his  people  in  his  arms  to 
console  them,  as  one  takes  a  waihng  child  to  nurse  in  the  hopes 
that  it  may  grow  better,  if  God  will.' 

Of  the  Prophet  Habakkuk  we  know  no  personal  details. 
From  the  musical  directions  attached  to  the  third  chapter  (iii. 
1-19)  and  the  expression,  "my  stringed  instruments,"  it  has 
been  conjectured  that  he  was  a  Levite.  Keil,  Pusey,  and  others, 
influenced  by  instances  in  which  his  phrases  may  have  been 
imitated  byZephaniah  and  Jeremiah,^  think  that  he  lived  in  the 
reign  of  Josiah,  about  B.C.  626.  Hitzig,  Maurer,  Ewald,  Knobel, 
Reuss,  V.  Orelli,  and  most  critics,  with  far  more  probability,  infer 
that  he  hved  in  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  (about  B.C.  609-598),  and 
nearer  to  the  actual  commencement  of  the  Babylonish  captivity 
(B.C.  586).  This  gives  the  most  natural  meaning  to  the  phrase  "in 
your  days"   (i.   5).     Delitzsch,  in  his  "Messianic  Prophecy" 

'  Canon  Cook  says  that  the  reduplicated  form  of  the  name  denotes 
reiteration  or  earnestness. 

*  Hab.  ii.  20:  "  The  Lord  is  in  His  Holy  Temple:  let  all  the  earth  keep 
silence  before  Him  "  ;  Zeph.  i.  7  ;  Hab.  i.  8  ;  Jar.  iv.  13,  v.  6  ;  Zeph.  iii.  3. 
The  resemblances  are  undoubted,  but  it  is  hardly  possible  to  decide  from 
internal  evidence  which  prophet  borrowed  from  the  other.  The  similarity 
of  expression  may  be  accidental. 


l6o  THE   MINOR    PROPHKTS. 

(1880  ;  p.  77),  referring  to  the  recorded  tlireatenings  of  various 
unnamed  prophets  in  the  reign  of  Manasseh  (2  Kings  xxi.  10), 
thinks  that  he  may  have  even  lived  in  those  days  ;  but  that  is 
evidently  too  far  back  ;  nor  is  it  possible  that  he  should  have 
had  no  reproof  for  the  idolatry  and  the  abominations  which  these 
nameless  prophets  denounced. 

Whatever  may  be  the  date  of  Habakkuk  the  question  does  not 
affect  his  prophetic  originality  and  eminence.  Though,  as  re- 
gards style  and  intensity  of  immediate  influence,  he  stands  below 
the  great  earlier  prophets,  he  has  a  special  grandeur  of  his 
own.  He  contains  little  or  nothing  which  is  directly  Mes- 
sianic,' but  is  inferior  to  none  of  his  mighty  predecessors  in 
spiritual  insight.'  His  prophecy  is  the  more  deeply  interesting 
because  he  abandons  the  beaten  path  trodden  by  most  of  those 
who  had  gone  before  him.  He  is  confronted  by  new  conditions, 
and  strikes  out  a  new  line  of  thought  which  has  an  eternal  signi- 
ficance. "  We  are  still  able  to  admire  in  him,"  says  Ewald, 
"  the  genuine  type  and  full  beauty  of  ancient  Hebrew  prophecy ; 
he  is  its  last  pure  light,  and  although  he  already  reproduces 
much  from  older  books,  he  still  maintains  complete  indepen- 
dence." He  was  not,  like  Amos,  or  Micah,  or  Isaiah,  a  great 
tribune  of  the  people.  He  did  not  attempt,  perhaps  he  was  not 
able,  to  be  one  of  those — 

' '  whose  resistless  eloquence 
Wielded  at  will  that  fierce  democracy  "  ; 

but  he  used  his  consummate  skill  in  poetry  and  literature  to 
brin;j;  consolation  to  his  people.  Hence  we  find  in  him  a  rich 
originality  alike  in  form,  thought,  and  illustration.  He  is  far 
more  a  moral  seer,  and  a  deep  theologian,  than  a  herald  of  the 

'  In  iii.  13  the  expression,  "Thine  Anointed,"  is,  in  one  reading  of  the 
LXX.,  rendered  rovij  \oi(7rovQ  aov,  and  is  referred  by  Ewald  to  the 
anointed  nation.  V.  Orelli  refers  it  to  the  Anointed  King  of  Isaiah,  Micah, 
and  other  prupliets. 

*  His  ajipearance  in  apocryphal  legend  (Bel  and  the  Dragon,  33-39, 
where  he  is  transported  to  Babylon  by  the  hair  of  the  head  to  take  pottage 
to  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den)  shows  the  impression  he  had  made  on  the  mind 
of  his  people,  and  perhaps  indicates  his  date  as  a  contemporary  of  Daniel. 
The  Rabbis  say  that  Habakkuk  was  a  pupil  of  Nahum.  Probably  his 
book  is  placed  after  that  of  Nahum  because  after  the  deliverance  from  the 
Ninevites  he  prophesies  the  tyranny  of  the  Chaldeans.  It  is  worse  than 
useless  to  repe.it  the  Rabbinical  invention  that  he  was  the  son  of  thcShuaa- 
nute,  &c. 


HABAKKUK.  l6l 

future.  The  predictive  element  in  him  is  reduced  ahnost  to 
nothing,  for  the  Chaldean  invasion  which  he  prophesied  was 
already  on  the  hT)rizon  ;  the  spiritual  is  almost  exclusively  pre- 
dominant. His  book  is  "a  scenic  and  declamatory  piece  (a 
drama),  divided  into  three  parts,  which  the  prophet  constructs 
around  that  new  fundamental  thought,  by  which  light  is  to  be 
thrown  upon  the  darkness,  and  peace  into  the  contending 
thoughts  of  the  time."  That  he  is  twice  announced  as  ''  Habak- 
kuk  the  prophet "  (i.  i  ;  iii.  i)  shows  that  his  position  was  well 
known  and  assured.  « 

In  the  earlier  prophets  we  usually  find  the  three  topics  of 
menace,  exhortation,  and  a  promise  of  final  prosperity  to  the 
remnant,  followed  by  yet  wider  Messianic  hopes  for  the  nations 
of  the  world.  Habakkuk  has  to  deal  with  a  new  and  eminently 
painful  problem  by  which  he  is  precluded  froiri  holding  out  any 
near  or  striking  hopes.  He  writes  at  the  sudden  dawn  of  the 
Chaldean  power  in  all  its  terrible  splendour,  and  a  full  century 
was  destined  to  elapse  before  that  power,  in  its  turn,  met  with 
its  just  doom.  He  could  not  console  his  countrymen  in  the 
prospect  of  actual  and  impending  calamities  by  any  assurance 
that  those  calamities  would  be  short-lived,  or  that  the  wrath  of 
God  would  fall  in  swift  vengeance  upon  the  oppressors. 

This  was  one  respect  in  which  he  was  differently  situated 
from  such  a  prophet  as  Isaiah  ;  and  there  was  another  which 
was  yet  more  trying.  His  predecessors  had  always  been  able 
to  point  to  the  crimes  and  idolatry  of  Israel  and  Judah  as  a  suf- 
ficient explanation  of  the  catastrophes  with  which  they  were 
threatened  or  already  overwhelmed.  Habakkuk  almost  alone 
has  no  such  complaint  to  make,  no  such  warning  to  administer. 
There  is  no  prevalent  idolatry,  or  wrong,  or  luxury,  or  greed 
with  which  he  can  brand  his  countrymen.  Any  wrongs  which 
do  exist  (i.  2-4)  seem  to  spring  from  without,  not  from  within  ; 
they  are  due  to  the  perversions  and  the  violence  of  foreign  per- 
secutors.' It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  he  writes  after  the 
great  reformation  in  the  days  of  Josiah.     That  reformation  put 

•  Considering  the  tone  of  the  entire  prophecy  it  seems  much  more 
probable  that  the  iniquity — spoiling,  violence,  strife,  perverted  judgment — 
over  which  Habakkuk  mourns  in  these  verses  as  a  terrible  spectacle,  was 
due  to  external  interference  than  to  native  misdoing,  otherwise  there 
would  sureiy  be  some  exhortation  to  repentance.  Those  who  take  a  diffe- 
rent view  suppose  that  the  announcement  of  the  Chaldean  terror  is  in- 
tended as  a  judgment  on  these  transgressions. 

12 


J 62  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

idolatry  under  the  ban,  and  in  other  respects  it  produced  a 
genuine  amendment  of  the  national  morality.  It  is  true  tliat 
no  long  period  elapsed  before  it  had  spent  its  force,  and  the 
subsequent  complaints  of  Jeremiah  and  later  prophets  showed 
that  they  found  it  to  be  in  many  respects  superficial.  When 
they  looked  back  upon  it  from  the  days  of  the  subsequent 
kings  and  from  the  early  part  of  the  Captivity  they  could  not 
but  regard  it  with  profound  disappointment.  In  this  it  did  not 
differ  from  other  movements  of  reform  which  leave  the  human 
heart  essentially  unchanged  though  they  may  create  a  revolu- 
tion in  outward  manners.  But  perhaps  Habakkuk  wrote  before 
the  earlier  hopes  of  good  men  had  been  blighted  ;  and  perhaps, 
as  a  Lev  ite,  he  saw  most  of  the  external  improvement  and  less 
of  the  hypocrisy  which  showed  that  this  new  covenant  of  the 
people  with  God  in  the  days  of  Josiah  was  but  a  (caAXof  kok^v 
vTTovXov,  which  did  but  "  skin  and  film  the  ulcerous  place." ' 

And,  therefore,  the  moral  difficulty  which  he  has  to  face  was 
that  of  Job  and  that  of  the  Psalmist,  but  under  serious  and 
startling  aggravations.  At  previous  times  the  paradox  of 
suffering  innocence  had  only,  or  predominantly,  presented 
itself  to  the  Hebrew  mind  in  i?idividual  instances.  They  had 
to  content  themselves  with  the  twofold  consolation  that  it  was 
an  exceptional  condition  ;  that  the  entire  working  of  God's 
Providence  tended  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  that,  whatever 
might  seem  to  be  the  abnormal  aberrations  from  the  general 
law,  guilt  as  a  rule  produced  temporal  misfortune,  and  righteou?,- 
ness  as  a  rule  was  accompanied  by  earthly  prosperity.  When 
the  exceptions  to  this  rule  forced  themselves  upon  their  atten- 
tion they  at  first  took  refuge  in  the  consolation  that  the  good 
fortune  of  the  wicked  was  shortlived,  and  that,  even  .in  this  life, 
they'  were,  sooner  or  later,  smitten  by  the  thunderbolt.''  This 
was  the  Psalmist's  solution  of  the  riddle  of  the  righteous  in 
misery  and  the  ungodly  flourishing  like  a  green  bay-tree.  In 
the  case  of  Job  the  sacred  moralist  shook  himself  free  from  the 

«  The  necessary  uncertainty  about  the  date  of  Habakkuk  is  unfortunate, 
since  we  should  have  been  able  to  enter  more  fully  into  his  prophecy  if  we 
had  been  better  acquainted  with  the  immediate  circumstances  which  called 
it  forth.  Some  have  argued  that  he  must  have  written  some  time  before 
the  Chaldean  invasion,  otherwise  he  would  not  have  spoken  of  the  appear- 
ance of  that  nation  as  so  stupendous  a  marvel.  But  the  wonder  expresse(' 
by  Habakkuk  is  founded  on  moral  and  spiritual  considerations,  and  might 
have  been  expressed  just  .is  well  after  the  actual  event.         "^  See  Psa.  Ixxiii. 


HABAKKUK.  163 

trnditional  orthodoxy  which  required  men  to  assume  that  if  a 
man  was  afflicted  he  had  necessarily  been  guilty.  It  was, 
perhaps,  a  later  hand  which  added  to  the  sublime  drama  the 
chapters  which  seemed  necessary  to  those  who  could  not  re- 
gard the  theodicsea  as  complete  without  saving  Job  from  death 
upon  his  dunghill,  and  crowning  him  with  sevenfold  happiness. 

Ecclesiastes  takes  refuge  in  general  considerations,  in  the 
resignation  of  human  helplessness,  in  the  conviction  that,  come 
what  will,  righteousness  is  happier  than  misdoing,  and  in  a 
thankful  enjoyment  of  such  innocent  temporal  pleasures  as  are 
within  man's  reach.  It  was  not  till  later  times  that  the  problem 
was  relegated  to  a  life  beyond  the  grave. 

But  Habakkuk  had  to  deal  with  a  yet  more  appalling  diffi- 
culty. The  misery  of  the  individual  might  seem  to  be  the  result 
of  the  infinite  complication  of  human  life.  It  might  be  conceived 
as  necessary,  or  at  least  as  inevitable,  amid  the  vast  sum  total  of 
intermingled  destinies.  But  when  the  sufferer  was  a  righteous 
nation,  nay,  not  only  a  righteous  nation,  but  the  chosen  people 
of  God — the  seed  of  Abraham,  God's  servant,  the  children 
of  Jacob  whom  He  had  chosen,  the  only  nation  that  did  not 
worship  carved  images  and  vain  gods,  the  only  nation  that  had 
received,  and  in  part,  at  least,  obeyed,  a  law  more  precious  than 
gold,  yea,  than  much  fine  gold,  sweeter  also  than  honey  and  the 
honey-comb — when  the  bright  Messianic  hopes  of  earlier  pro- 
phets seem  to  have  set  into  seas  of  blood — when  the  heirs  of  the 
Divine  Promise  seemed  to  be  singled  out  for  pre-eminence  in 
misery  and  humiliation — it  was  natural  that  a  terrible  perplexity 
should  overcloud  the  souls  of  men  with  whom  a  belief  in  the 
special  protection  of  Jehovah  had  been  the  main  element  of 
their  religious  convictions. 

But  even  this  was  not  all.  It  was  startling  enough  to  see  the 
descendants  of  the  patriarchs  carried  away  into  captivity  by  a 
fierce,  brutal,  and  blood-stained  nation  like  the  Assyrians  ;  but 
it  was  remembered  that  the  Ten  Tribes  had  constantly  aposta- 
tized into  Baal-worship,  and  had  systematically  violated  the 
fiery  law  of  Sinai  by  making  to  themselves  graven  images  and 
turning  their  glory  into  the  similitude  of  an  ox  that  eaieth  hay. 
And  if  the  lion  claws  of  Nineveh  had  also  rent  the  cities  of 
Judah,  the  prophets  of  the  past  had  taught  again  and  again 
that  these  calamities  were  the  consequence  of  unfaithfulness, 
and  that  if  there  were  sincere  repentance  and  earnest  turning  to 


l64  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

God  the  overflowing  scourge  should  be  removed.  But  what  was 
the  spectacle  now  presented  to  the  contemplation  of  Jehovah's 
thoughtful  worshippers?  There  had  been  thorough  reform. 
There  had  been  an  apparently  sincere  repentance.  There  was 
not  a  visible  idol  in  all  the  bounds  of  Judah.  Even  the  High 
Places  had  been  removed,  though  so  many  righteous  and  godly 
kings  had  at  least  tolerated  their  continuance.  The  whole 
people,  headed  by  their  king,  their  princes,  and  their  priests, 
had  turned  to  God  with  fasting,  with  weeping,  and  with  vows 
of  obedience.  Was  it  not  reasonable  to  expect,  had  not 
all  the  voices  of  past  prophecy  taught  them  to  look  for,  an 
immense  return  of  prosperity  ?  Ought  not  the  sun  to  have 
burst  forth  long  ago  from  behind  those  threatening  clouds  ? 
Alas  !  the  reality  was  very  different  I  Judah  had  never  been 
more  religious,  and  yet  Judah  was  never  more  utterly  undone. 
It  was  marvellous,  but  it  was  going  on  before  their  eyes.  It 
was  unbelievable,  but  it  was  true.  The  Chaldean  power  was 
upon  them,  bitter  and  vehement  and  terrible,  swifter  than  a 
leopard  in  its  bounding  ferocity,  ravenous  as  a  pack  of  evening 
wolves,  sweeping  as  the  wind,  and  yet  ignorant  of  any  god  but 
his  own  might.  And  the  prophet  was  unable  to  hold  out  any 
prospect  of  deliverance.  No  doubt  the  nations  were  all  raising 
their  voices  against  this  new  and  dreadful  power  in  a  chorus  of 
execration,  and  prognosticating  the  day  of  inevitable  ven- 
geance." But  as  yet  there  is  not  a  single  indication  of  the 
quarter  from  which  that  vengeance  is  to  come  ;  and  though  the 
retribution  is  so  certain  that  he  who  ran  might  read  it,  the  time 
for  it  was  not  yet,  and  while  it  tarried  there  was  no  remedy,  save 
in  endurance  and  in  hope. 

And  in  that  era  of  endurance  and  hope  deferred  the  lives 
of  men,  or  even  of  generations,  might  pass  away.     Was  there 

'  Babylon  was  in  reality  a  more  ancient  power  than  Nineveh,  but  had 
been  eclipsed  and  for  some  time  in  vassalage  to  Assyria.  Rut  in  625,  when 
the  last  king  of  Assyria,  Assur-idil-ili  (Saracus),  was  threatened  by  Cyaxarcs 
and  the  Medes,  he  entrusted  an  army  to  Nabopolassar,  who  revolted  to 
the  enemy  and  made  himself  king  of  Babylon.  In  606  he  associated  with 
him  his  son  Nebuchadrezzar,  who  in  that  year  defeated  the  Egyptians  at 
Carcliemish,  and  reduced  Jehoiakim  to  vassalage.  Three  years  afterwards 
Jehoiakim  revolted,  was  defeated,  and  killed  (Jer.  .\xii.  19  ;  xxxvi.  30). 
After  three  months  his  son  Jelioiachin  was  deposed,  the  Tem|)le  plundered, 
and  many  captives  carried  to  Babylon,  B.C.  600.  In  B.C.  588  the  Temple 
and  city  were  totally  destroyed. 


HAHAKKUK.  165 

nothing  terrible  in  the  thought  that  through  all  their  own  brief 
days  the  vials  of  anguish  might  continue  to  be  poured  out  ? 
that  the  entire  period  of  their  own  lives  might  be  desolated, 
and  for  all  this  God's  anger  not  be  turned  away,  but  His  wrath 
be  poured  out  still  ?  Would  the  prospect  of  better  things  in 
the  far-off  times  atone  sufficiently  for  lives  which,  so  far  as  this 
earth  was  concerned,  seemed  to  have  no  pleasuie  in  them  ? 

As  he  brooded  on  these  desolating  thoughts— as  he  looked 
out  on  a  day  of  the  Lord  which  was  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick 
darkness— the  light  of  truth  dawned  on  the  soul  of  the  troubled 
Levite;  and  for  himself,  for  his  nation,  for  all  time  it  was 
granted  him  to  see  at  least  in  germ,  and  to  set  forth  at  least 
in  outline,  the  two  great  truths  upon  which,  as  on  the  great  main 
pillars  of  a  temple,  the  consolations  of  life  must  rest. 

1.  One  of  these  convictions  is  that  God  is  the  Lord,  and  not 
another  ;  that  He  sitteth  above  the  water-floods,  be  the  earth 
never  so  unquiet.  Men  may  worship  their  own  prowess,  they 
may  "  sacrifice  unto  their  net,  and  burn  incense  to  their  drag, 
because  by  them  their  portion  is  fat  and  their  meat  dainty  "  ; 
and  yet  God  is  from  everlasting  and  cannot  die  ;  and  since  He 
is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity,  He  has  but  ordained 
them  for  judgment  and  established  them  for  correction.' 

2.  The  other  supporting  conviction  suggested  by  the  prophet 
is  newer  and  more  original  than  this.  The  trust  in  God,  even 
though  He  slay,  had  been  found  in  Job  and  in  the  Psalmists, 
and  was  inherent  in  the  very  essence  of  true  religion.  Not  so 
the  dawning  sense  that  earthly  prosperity  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  deepest  realities  of  life  ;  that  it  is  no  proof  of  God's 
favour  any  more  than  earthly  affliction  is  a  proof  of  God's  dis- 
pleasure ;  that  blessedness  was  attainable  even  if  the  very 
capacity  for  happiness  might  seem  to  be  quenched  ;  in  a  word, 
that  righteousness  is  life.  All  this  is  involved  in  that  great 
utterance,  "  The  ri_o;hteous  shall  live  by  his  faithfulness^''  In 
that  truth  lay  the  germ  of  the  Christian  paradox  which,  six 
and  a  half  centuries  later,  began  to  astonish  the  world — the 
Christian  paradox  of  gladness  in  the  midst  of  sorrow  ;  of  much 
affliction  pervaded,  illuminated,  rendered  heavenly  by  simul- 
taneous joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Far  deeper  were  the  meanings  which  in  the  early  years  of 
the   Christian   dispensation  were  read    into  the  words  of  the 
'  Hab.  i.  12,  13  ;  ii.  15,  16,  20.  ^  ii-  4. 


l66  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

Hebrew  prophet  by  the  Christian  apostle.  Yet  all  the  profound 
theological  significance  which  lay  in  St.  Paul's  thesis  that  "liie 
just  shall  live  by  faith  "' was  practically  involved  in  the  preg- 
nant sentence,  enunciated  amid  the  miseries  of  Chaldean 
oppression,  "  the  righteous  man-  shall  live  by  his  fidelity."  In 
point  of  fact,  the  moral  steadfastness  which  the  prophet  had  in 
view  was  alike  manifested  by,  and  rooted  in,  a  deep  trust  in 
God  and  loyal  allegiance  to  Him.  And  this  principle  of 
"justification  by  faith"  here  enunciated  by  a  seer  of  whom 
we  know  hardly  anything  beyond  his  name  and  the  three  short 
chapters  of  his  poetry  and  prophecy,  is  one  of  the  great  links 
between  all  that  is  most  spiritual  and  permanent  in  the  Old 
and  the  New  Dispensations.  Levite  though  he  probably  was, 
Habakkuk  placed  as  little  reliance  upon  Temple  ceremonies  and 
formal  sacrifices  as  Micah  or  Isaiah.  He  saw  that  the  essential 
service  of  the  Lord  lies  in  meekness,  mercy,  and  justice — that 
obedience  is  better  than  sacrifice  and  to  hearken  than  the  fat 
of  rams  ;  that  faith  in  God  and  fidelity  towards  God  are  the 
alpha  and  omega  of  true  religion. 

And  even  the  Talmudists  had  not  overlooked  the  palmary 
importance  of  this  saying.  For  though  by  exorbitant  in- 
ferences they  had  multiplied  the  Mosaic  law  into  six  hundred 
and  thirteen  precepts,  yet  they  themselves  point  out  in 
more  than  one  passage^  that  David  in  the  15th  Psalm  had 
reduced  those  precepts  to  eleven  ;  and  Isaiah  to  six  (Isa.  xxxiii. 
15)  ;  and  Micah  to  three  (Micah  vi.  8)  ;  and  Amos  ^  to  one  ; 
and  that  this  one  necessary  precept  had  been  still  more  clearly 
set  forth  by  Habakkuk  in  the  verse,  "  The  just  shall  live  by 
faith."  It  is  no  small  glory  to  this  prophet  that  he  should  have 
been  commissioned  to  enunciate  a  message  which  sums  up 
with  such  emphatic  brevity,  yet  with  such  far-reaching  fulness, 
alike  the  commands  and  the  promises  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments. 

The  structure  of  this  remarkable  little  book  in  which  these 
two  truths  are  brought  home  to  the  minds  of  the  prophet's 
countrymen  is  as  follows.  The  division,  as  was  so  com- 
mon among  the  prophets,  is  threefold.  In  the  first  chapter 
Habakkuk  pours    forth    to    God    his    agitated    appeal    as    he 

•  Rom.  i.  17  ;  Gal.  iii.  11.  Conip.  Heb.  x.  38,  where  tlie  best  rendin;.; 
(K.  A,  &C.)  seems  to  be,  "  My  just  man  simll  live  by  f.iith." 

=  Makkoth,  f.  24.  a.         3  Amos  v.  4      '  Se.k  )>•  Me,  and  ye  shall  live." 


HABAKKUK. 


167 


gazes  on  the  fierceness  of  the  Chaldean  tyranny,  and  asks 
how  long  the  Holy  and  Eternal  One  can  suffer  the  preva- 
lence of  their  iniquity  (i.  i-i?)-  In  the  second,  as  he  waUs 
for  the  answer,  he  is  shown  that  while  he  must  st.l  possess 
his  soul  in  patience  and  find  life  in  faithfulness  (n.  1-4), 
vet  the  doom  of  wickedness  is  certain,  however  long  it  may  be 
delayed,  and  the  Chaldean  shall  perish  amid  the  shoutmgs 
of  the  people  whom  he  has  oppressed  (ii.  5-20).'  Then  m  the 
third  chapter  he  breaks  imo  a  splendid  dithyramb  m  which,  in 
answer  to  his  cry,  the  Lord  manifests  Himself  in  the  same 
glorious  apocalypse  as  when  He  had  flashed  forth  for  the  de- 
liverance of  His  people  in  the  wilderness.  Satisfied  by  that 
memory  of  Jehovah's  power  as  a  Deliverer,  the  prophet  ends 
with  a  touching  and  humble,  yet  unshaken,  expression  of  his 
absolute  dependence  upon  God,  in  whom  he  would  rejoice  in 
hope  though  every  condition  of  life  around  him  seemed  only 

to  breathe  despair.  j  u    *u^ 

Habakkuk,  then,  is  the  prophet  of  faith.  Oppressed  by  the 
siaht  of  a  nation  suffering  in  spite  of  its  righteousness,  and  suf- 
fering at  the  hands  of  cruel,  sensual,  idolatrous  insolence,  he 
still  holds  fast  to  the  conviction  that  faith  will  be  delivered  and 
will  in  the  end  be  jubilant. 

The  first  division  of  Habakkuk's  prophecy  may  be  called— 
I.  The  agonizing  cry  (i.  1-17)- 

1  After  the  brief  heading,  the  prophet  appeals  to  Jehovah. 
On  every  side  he  sees  violence  and  wrong,  justice  cold  and 
benumbed  because  the  wicked  oppressors  -  perhaps  under 
foreign  influence-surround  the  just  with  their  strife  and  sm. 
How  long  will  Jehovah  be  deaf  to  his  cry,  and  withhold  His 

help  ?(i.  2-4).  ,  , 

2  The  terrible  announcement.— Is  there  no  cause  for  amaze- 
ment and  even  for  incredulity,  if  incredulity  were  possible? 

For  Jehovah  speaks  and  says  that  He  is  raising  up  a  nation, 
,ou-h  restless,  a-gressive,  terrible,  independent.  His  horses 
are^swifter  than  leopards,  his  chargers  leap  like  evening  wolves, 
his  horsemen  fly  hke  vultures  to  the  spoil.^  They  collect  cap- 
tives like  the  dust  ;  they  mock  at  kings  ;  they  laugh  at  strong- 

.  In  point  of  fact  the  Babylonian  Empire  did  not  flourish  longer  than 
eighty-nine  years.  .  _    ,        ..    „ 

^  Deut.  xxviii.  49  :  Jer.  xlviii.  40,  xlix.  22;  Lam.  ,v.  19  ;  Ezek.  xvu.  3  ; 

Uan.  vii.  4. 


l68  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

holds.  Their  characteristics  are  sweeping  rapidity  and  daring 
self-rehance  which  lead  them  into  reckless  guilt."  And  in 
this  fact  the  prophet  already  sees  the  germ  of  the  future  ruin 
of  the  Chaldean  ;    for  he   makes  a   god  of  his  own    strength 

(5-1 1)- 

3.  The  troubled  inquiry. — But  the  only  true  God  is  the 
Eternal  Jehovah  who  cannot  die.  Therefore  the  Chaldean 
is  predestined  to  be  judged  and  punished.  And  yet  how  is  it 
that  though  God  is  of  too  pure  eyes  to  look  at  evil,  this  foreign 
invader,  this  insolent  idolater  is  suffered  to  treat  men  like  fish 
or  helpless  worms,  and  to  be  so  irresistible  with  his  net  and 
dredge  that  he  sacrifices  and  burns  incense  to  them  as  to 
his  gods?'  Is  he  still  to  catch  and  slay  the  nations  without 
scruple  and  without  respite?  (12-17). 

II.   God's  Answer. 

The  prophet  will  ascend  his  watch-tower  and  listen  to  what 
God  will  answer  to  his  impeachment. 

And  the  answer  came,  and  he  was  bidden  to  write  it  on 
tablets  for  all  to  read.  It  was  no  promise  of  immediate  de- 
liverance ;  it  will  come,  but  he  must  wait  for  it.     It  is — 

"  Behold  his  .ww/(the  soul  of  the  Chaldean)  is  puffed  up,  it  is  not  upright 
in  him. 
But  the  rii^hteous  shall  live  by  his  faithfulness."  'i 

Short,  and  at  the  first  sight  irrelevant,  as  the  oracle  may  seem, 
it  contains  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  justification  of  God  and 
the  consolation  of  man.'*  It  is  enough  to  know  that  the 
Chaldean  is  inflated  with  pride,  though  he  is  living  by  robbery 

» 'I"he  description  shows  that  the  Babylonian  cavalry  resembled  Cossacks 
or  Uhlans,  sweeping  over  the  country  in  all  directions  for  plunder  (Canon 
Cook)  ;  comp.  Isa.  xiv.  6,  16,  17. 

"  Just  as  the  Scythians  and  Huns  worshipped  a  naked  sword. 

3  Comp.  Isa.  xxvi.  2-4  ;  Rom.  i.  17  ;  Gal.  iii.  11.  LXX.  6  fiVmof  Ik 
Tri'ffrfojf  fiov  Z>i"fr(u.  St.  Paul  omits  the  fiov.  In  Heb.  x.  38  the  incorrect 
nadingof  the  LXX.  (tar  i»7ro(Trn'X»;rai)  is  followed,  from  which,  liowever, 
the  same  general  sense  m.ay  be  deduced,  though  the  words  are  freely  dealt 
with. 

4  Canon  Cnok  s.iys  excellently,  "In  one  short  s.aying  the  two  general 
aspects  of  the  prophet's  enquiry  are  dealt  with  ;  the  pride  and  injustice  of 
the  invader  are  dealt  with,  and  the  just  man  is  assured  of  life,  i.e.,  preserva- 
tion from  evil  and  salvntinn  nn  l)ic  cnnditiun  tlinf  lir  lK)ld  <;tc:i(Uaslly  to 
the  principle  of  f.iitli.'' 


HABAKKUK.  169 

and  wrong.  In  that  pride  and  injustice  lie  the  germs  of  his 
future  destruction,  though  the  destruction  may  be  long  delayed. 
And  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous  does  not  only  contain 
the  promise  of  life— it  is  life.  God's  justice,  therefore,  needs  no 
further  vindication.  The  just  man— the  ideal  nation- is  not 
under  any  crushing  disadvantage.  His  justice  is  his  crown  of 
life  and  of  rejoicing.  It  is  not  he  who  needs  to  be  pitied,  but 
his  oppressor. 

Yes  !  for  the  pride  of  the  Chaldean  is  an  inflation  like  that 
of  drunkenness.  His  greed  is  insatiable  as  death,  and  all  the 
nations  gathered  under  his  crushing  sway  shall  rise  and  taunt 
him  (vers.  i-6a). 

Their  taunts  are  given  in  five  strophes  which  heap  up  the 
several  accusations  against  the  Chaldeans-for  their  rapacity, 
their  selfish  greed,  their  ambitious  buildings,  their  insulting 
corruption  of  the  nations,  and  their  senseless  idolatry.  Each 
strophe  comprises  three  verses. 

1.  Rapacity  of  the  Chaldeans.  Ho  !  he  that  heapeth  up  what 
is  not  his  !  How  long  ?  Shall  not  the  nations  which  he  has 
stripped  bite  '  and  shake  and  strip  him  in  turn  ?  (vers.  6^-8).= 

2.  Their  selfishness.  Ho!  the  grasping  tyrant  who  only 
thinks  selfishly  of  his  own  house,  and  cares  not  what  ruin  he 
inflicts.  His  self-aggrandisement  shall  be  self-destruction,  and 
the  stone  from  the  wall  and  the  beam  from  the  timber-work 
shall  cry  out  against  him  (vers.  9-1 1). 

3.  Their  vain  ambition.  Ho  !  he  that  buildeth  the  city  with 
blood  and  stablishes  the  state  by  wrong.  Jehovah  alone  is  the 
strength  of  states,  and  godless  nations  do  but  weary  themselves 
for  vanity  which  is  doomed  to  fire.  For  the  earth  shall  be 
filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea  (vers.  12-14). 

4.  Their  cruel  druitkenness.      Ho !    he    that  rejoices  in  his 

■  The  word  for  "bite"  perhaps  has  an  intended  assonance  with  the 
word  for  "  interest." 

2  In  ii.  6  "  Woe  to  him  .  .  .  that  ladeth  himself  with  thick  clay,"  there 
is  one  of  the  paronomasias,  or  plays  on  words,  so  conmion  in  Hebrew  pro- 
phetic literature.  The  word  means  "a  heavy  pledge"  extorted  by  the 
Chaldeans  from  conquered  nations  ;  but  when  divided  into  two  words 
(31?  and  D-tS)  it  means  "  thick  <:lay  "  (Syr..  "  a  cloud  of  mud  ").  One  of 
N.-l.uch.'Klnezzar-s  boasts  was.  ■'  I  have  amassed  silver,  gold,  metals,  gems 
of  all  kinds  and  values,  a  collection  of  objects  of  great  price,  immense 
trcaMiies."     There  can  hardlv  be  an  allusion  to  the  clay  walls  of  Babylon. 


I70  THE   MINOR    I'ROPHRTS. 

Stupefaction  of  the  nations  and  in  putting  them  to  shame.  The 
cup  of  stupefaction,  the  infamy  of  exposure  shall  be  forced  also 
upon  him  by  Jehovah.  For  Lebanon  and  its  wild  beasts  plead 
for  revenge  against  their  devastator,  because  of  men's  b'ood 
and  all  the  violence  which  the  Chaldeans  had  inflicted  (vers. 

15-17). 

5.  Their  idolatry.  Ho  !  he  that  worships  graven  and  molten 
images.  Dumb  and  motionless,  how  can  they  avail  even  though 
they  be  overlaid  with  gold  and  silver.''  (vers.  18,  19). 

Such  is  the  fivefold  cry  of  various  oppressed  nationalities  as 
they  take  up  their  proverbs  and  serious  taunts  against  the 
Babylonian  power.  But  filled  with  yet  deeper  thoughts  the 
prophet  exclaims,  "The  Lord  is  in  His  holy  temple;  let  all 
the  earth  keep  silence  before  Him  ! "  (ver.  20). 

IIL  The  third  chapter  of  Habakkuk  is  at  once  a  paean  and  a 
prayer.  In  form,  it  is  a  dramatic  and  dithyrambic  poem, 
which  illustrates  the  struggle  of  mind  by  which  hope  had  been 
wrung  out  of  calamity  and  fear.  So  far  there  had  been  no  pro- 
mise of  immediate  deliverance  ;  nay,  the  silence  of  the  prophet 
on  this  head  implied  the  inevitable  continuance  of  the  present 
calamities.  He  had  pointed  to  faith  and  faithfulness  as  the 
only  remedy.  This  was  the  answer  which  he  had  received 
from  God,  the  only  inference  as  to  present  duty  which  could 
be  deduced  from  the  certainty  of  the  Divine  supremacy. 
Hope  for  himself,  hope  for  his  nation  lay  in  moral  stead- 
fastness. But  that  steadfastness  might  well  be  encouraged  by 
the  remembrance  of  God's  marvellous  deliverances  of  His  people 
in  days  of  old.  And  these  are  the  thoughts  which  are  to  be 
poured  forth  in  the  hymns  and  prayers  of  the  congregation 
assembled  for  worship.  Whether  the  circumstances  of  Habak- 
kuk's  own  day  permitted  the  musical  rendering  of  his  magnifi- 
cent hymn  in  the  I  emple  or  not,  it  was  clearly  well  suited  for 
public  use,  and  if  it  was  not  set  to  music  by  himself  it  was 
so  by  a  later  hand  as  soon  as  the  reviving  fortunes  of  the  Jews 
permitted. 

First  the  prophet  pours  forth  the  supplication  of  his  troubled 
heart  (ver.  2).  Then  the  mighty  song  of  the  congregation  bursts 
forth  in  five  strophes  (3-15),  "  proceeding  as  always  from  the 
memory  of  the  ancient  deeds  in  the  deliverance  of  the  nations  at 
the  beginning  and  foundation  of  the  community,  but  this  time 
rising  and  expatiating  upon  it  with  peculiar  warmth  of  recoUec- 


HABAKKUK.  I7I 

tion  and  thanksgiving.  We  have  pure  and  simple  joy,  an 
imperishable  joy  in  the  true  God  and  eternal  Lord  of  the  com- 
munity, such  as  cannot  be  overcome  by  anything  in  the  present, 
like  a  wholly  foreign  note  of  perennial  and  swelling  joy,  sound- 
ing into  that  time  of  deepest  despair.  Yet  this  is  the  necessary 
foundation-note  of  the  feeling  of  the  community  when  in  the 
presence  of  God— the  note  that  necessarily  rises  at  every  period 
of  most  painful  distress  from  the  imperishable  memory  of  the 
ancient  deliverance  wrought  by  Jehovah  at  the  Red  Sea."  The 
Egyptian  in  old  days  thought  that  he  had  annihilated  Israel, 
as  the  Chaldean  now  thought.  Yet  God  who  had  overthrown 
the  one  would  overthrow  the  other.  The  same  thought  domi- 
nated in  the  Song  of  Deborah  and  in  the  Sixty-seventh  Psalm. 
When  this  mighty  outburst  of  music  is  over,  the  prophet  is  still 
unable  at  first  to  shake  off  his  overwhelming  fear  and  horror 
(16,  17)  at  the  thought  of  the  trouble  and  anguish  which  now 
is,  and  is  yet  to  come.  The  present  blight  and  famine  seem 
to  be  but  omens  of  yet  more  overwhelming  calamities.  Never- 
theless hope  triumphs  in  the  triumph  of  faith,  and  remains  in 
final  possession,  as,  in  language  which  echoes  that  of  the 
Eighteenth  Psalm,  the  prophet  expresses  his  trust  and  joy  in 
the  God  of  his  salvation. 

This  third  chapter — one  of  the  most  magnificent  pieces  of 
poetry  in  the  Bible— is  called,  "A  prayer  of  Habakkuk  the  pro- 
phet upon  Shigionoth."  The  expression,  "  upon  Shigionoth," 
means  "in  dithyrambics."'  In  the  title  of  Psa.  vii.  we  find 
"  Shiggaion  of  David,  which  he  sang  unto  the  Lord  concerning 
the  words  of  Gush  the  Benjamite."  Upon  Shigionoth  might  be 
rendered  "to  the  music  of  Psalms  of  ecstasy."  Shiggaion 
"denotes,"  says  Ewald,  "a  wandenng,  devious, crooked  course, 
when  thought,  feeling,  and  time  rapidly  change  with  the  new 
strophe  ;  and  as  a  point  of  fact  this  more  passionately  excited, 
rapidly  changing,  and,  as  it  were,  wandering  style  of  music 
accords  well  with  the  sense  in  the  two  cases  where  a  lyric  is 
thus  denominated."  ^     He  compares  it  to  a  Pindaric  ode. 

The  divisions  of  the  chapter  are  as  follows  : 

'  "  Nach  Dithyrambenvveise,"  V.  Orelli. 

2  Psa.  vii.  ;  Hab.  iii.  There  is  a  predominance  of  the  triple  structure  of 
clauses,  probably  due  to  metrical  laws.  Plutarch  describes  dithyrambs  as 
being  "full  of  passion  and  change,  with  motions  and  agitations  to  and 
fro." 


172  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

1.  The  prophet  has  heard  the  oracle  of  Jehovah,  and  being 
still  full  of  fear  he  appeals  to  His  mercy. 

2.  The  prayer  is  scarcely  uttered  before  the  congregation's 
hymn  of  praise  swells  forth.'  It  describes  the  glorious  manifes- 
tation of  Jehovah  in  ancient  days  to  save  His  people  Israel  as 
He  came  from  Teman  and  Mount  Paran,  the  southern  and 
eastern  districts  of  Edom,  in  the  .Sinaitic  wilderness,''  with  the 
rays  of  light  streaming  from  His  hands,^  the  very  light  being 
but  the  veil  of  His  glory. ■•  Before  Him  went  the  pestilence  and 
the  fever-glow  (3-5). 

i.  The  earth  shook,  the  nations  were  tossed  aside,  the  ever- 
lasting mountains  fell  to  dust  before  His  presence.  Ethiopia 
was  terrified,^  and  the  tents  of  Midian  trembled  before  Him 
(4-7). 

ii.  Was  His  wrath  against  the  rivers  and  the  sea,  that  He 
made  His  bow  bare  and  rode  upon  His  chariots  of  salvation.''* 

(8,9). 

iii.  Mountains  and  deeps,  sun  and  moon  were  terrified  before 
His  arrows,  and  the  light  of  His  glittering  spear,  when  He 
marched  through  the  earth  threshing  the  nations  in  His  anger. 

"Thou  wentest  forth  to  save  thy  people,  to  save  Thine  Anointed, 
Thou  shattered'st  the  head  from  the  house  of  the  wicked, 
A/ioirinpr  bare  the  foundation  upon  the  neck. 


*  "  Revive  thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years  "  ;  LXX.,  tv^£Tf/j  Svo  !^u)u>v 
yv(x)(79>)ay  (wliich  was  applied  to  the  ox  and  ass  in  the  manger). 

*  Conip.  Deut.  xxxiii.  2  ;  Judg.  v.  4.  The  "  Selah  "  which  occurs  here 
and  ver.  9,  is  only  found  in  the  Book  of  Psalms.  It  is  a  musical  pause — 
perhaps  for  the  voices  to  rest,  and  the  instruments  to  strike  up. 

3  "  Horns."  Comp.  Exod.  xxxiv.  29,  30.  "Thus  the  first  rays  of  the 
sun  are  compared  by  Arabic  poets  to  the  horns  of  the  gazelle  "  (Cook). 

*  "The  hiding  of  His  power."  Comp.  Psa.  xviii.  11  ;  "  He  made  darkness 
His  secret  place." 

"  Dari  with  excess  of  light  His  skirts  appear  "  (Milton). 

S  "  Cushan,"  perhaps  a  tribe  of  Cush.  There  is  no  reason  to  connect  it 
with  Cliushan-rishathaim,  Judg.  iii.  8. 

*  In  ver.  9  the  words  rendered  "  according  to  the  oaths  of  the  tribes,  even 
thy  word,"  represent  a  text  so  uncertain  tiiat  it  is  difticult  to  choose  the  true 
meaning  among  "  more  than  a  hundred  explanations."  Ewald  renders  it 
"Sevenfold  spear-charges  of  victory."  V.  Orelli,  "  Beschworenes,  Waffen 
des  Wortes  !  "  Cook,  "  Chastisements  seven  according  to  promise  "  (comp. 
Deut.  xx.'.ii.  40-42).  Mr.  Cox,  taking  the  words  as  a  military  command, 
renders  "  '  Sevens  of  spears,'  was  the  word." 


HABAKKUK.  173 

Ihou  did'st  strike  through  with  his  own  spear  the  head  of  his  warrior.: 

Who  swept  down  to  scatter  me, 

Whose  rejoicing  was,  as  in  ambush,  to  devour  the  helpless. 

Thou  drovest  through  the  sea  Thy  horses, 

Through  the  roar  of  many  waters."  • 

3.  The  prophet  has  heard  the  paean  and  speaks  once  more. 
He  has  heard  the  oracle  of  Jehovah  (ver.  2),  and  has  heard  the 
dithyrambs  of  glorious  memories  ;  but  since  the  fact  still  remains 
that  the  Chaldean  is  at  hand,  and  there  is  no  present  help, 
he  is  filled  with  anguish  and  trembling  at  the  thought  that  he 
must  but  sit  still  and  await  the  day  of  distress  until  the  afiflicter 
of  his  nation  comes  up  against  her^  (16).  There  is  no  prospect 
but  that  of  drought  and  devastation  (17).  Yet  he  triumphantly 
concludes  ; 

"  In  Jehovah  will  I  rejoice, 

1  will  be  glad  in  the  God  of  my  salvation  ; 
Jehovah,  the  Lord,  is  my  strength  ; 

He  maketh  my  feet  like  hind's  feet, 
And  maketh  me  walk  upon  the  heights." 

So  ends  the  prayer  and  poem,  and  to  it  is  appended  the  musical 
direction,  "  To  the  chief  singer  on  my  stringed  instruments." 

We  would  gladly  have  known  more  of  a  writer  to  whom 
belongs  the  high  distinction  of  having  composed  so  memorable 
a  poem,  while  he  has  also  enshrined  as  the  centre  of  his  pro- 
phecy an  "  oracle  "  so  full  of  depth  and  insight  that  St.  Paul 
seized  upon  it  as  the  briefest  expression  of  his  theological 
system.  It  is  strange  that  under  such  circumstances  tradition 
should  not  have  preserved  for  us  a  single  fact  of  his  biography. 
Legend  was  not  content  with  this  silence.  It  asserted  that  the 
prophet  was  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon  ;  that  he  was  born  at  Beth- 
Zocher  ;  that  at  the  Chaldean  conquest  he  was  carried  away  to 
the  little  state  of  Ostrakine  ;  that  he  was  afterwards  set  free,  and 
devoting  himself  to  agriculture,  lived  on  till  the  return  from  the 
Exile.  His  grave  was  shown  at  Keilah  in  the  tribe  of  Judab, 
and  also  at  Chukkok,  in  Naphtali.    We  have  already  mentioned 

'  From  Ewald,  with  variations. 

2  The  text  is  uncertain,  but  here,  as  in  so  many  passages,  the  renderings 
of  the  Authorised  Version  are  practically  unintelligible.  The  headings  of 
the  chapters  in  many  instances  show  how  little  the  translators  of  that  day 
understood  great  parts  of  the  prophets  on  which  so  much  light  has  been 
thrown  by  modern  criticism. 


174  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

the  legend  about  him  which  is  found  in  "  Bel  and  the  Dragon." 
In  one  of  the  manuscripts  of  the  Septuagint  (Codex  Chisianus), 
the  heading  to  this  book  is  "  From  the  prophecy  of  Habakkuk, 
the  son  of  Joshua,  of  the  tribe  of  Levi"  ;  and  that  he  was  a 
Levite  is  as  we  have  seen  a  probable  conjecture.' 

'  He  has  many  resemblances  to  Psa.  xviii.  and  other  Psalms  of  David, 
and  to  tlie  Temple  Psalms  of  Asaph  (Ixxiii.-lxxxiii.). 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


OBADIAH. 


Obadiah--What  is  tnown  of  him — His  date — His  allusions — Relations 
between  Israel  and  Edom — Analysis  and  general  bearing  of  the  pro- 
phecy— The  fulfilments. 

The  personality  of  Obadiah,  as  of  so  many  of  the  Minor 
Prophets,  hes  deep  in  shadow.  The  name,  which  is  not  un- 
common,' means  "a  servant  or  worshipper  of  Jehovah,"  and 
therefore  resembles  such  names  as  Abdi,  Abdiel,  Abdallah. 
The  best-known  bearer  of  the  name  in  the  Old  Testament  is 
the  minister  of  Ahab,  who  protected  the  prophets  of  the  Lord 
from  the  persecution  of  Jezebel  (i  Kings  xviii.),  by  hiding  a 
hundred  of  them  by  fifties  in  a  cave.  The  tomb  of  an  Obadiah 
used  to  be  shown  in  Samaria  with  those  of  Elisha  and  John 
the  Baptist ;  and  St.  Jerome,  in  his  interesting  description  of 
his  travels  with  Paula  in  Palestine,  gives  an  account  of  the 
miracles  wrought  at  the  tomb,  and  the  strange  assembly  of 
demoniacs  and  fanatics  who  surrounded  it.  There  is  nothing 
to  prove  the  identity  of  the  prophet  with  any  other  bearer  of 
the  name,  though,  on  the  supposition  that  he  prophesied  in 
the  days  of  King  Jehoram,  Delitzsch  thinks  that  he  may  have 
been  the  Obadiah  mentioned  in  2  Chron.  xvii.  7  as  one  of  the 
Levites  whom  Jehoshaphat  sent  to  teach  the  law  in  the  cities 
of  Judah.  Of  his  personal  history  not  a  single  incident  or 
even  tradition  has  been  preserved.  All  that  we  can  hope 
to  determine  respecting  him  is  the  date  of  his  brief  prophecy ; 
but  here,  too,  we  find  ourselves  baflSed  by  the  indistinctness  of 
the  allusions. 

These  are  partly  negative  and  partly  positive  ;  but  though 
they  cannot,  amid  the  varying  opinions  of  critics,  be  regarded 
as  decisive,  they  at  least  lead  with    a  high  degree  of  proba- 

•  I  Chi  on.  iii.  21,  vii.  3,  viii.  38,  ix.  9  ;  2  Chron.  xvii.  7,  xxxiv.  12; 
Ezra  viii.  9  ;  Neh.  x.  5. 


176  THF.    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

hility  to  the  conclusion  that  Obathah  wrote  shortly  after  the 
linal  invasion  of  Nebuchadrezzar.'  Negatively  we  notice 
that  there  is  no  reference  either  to  the  Assyrians  or  the 
Babylonians.  This  may  perhaps  be  explained  by  the  fact  that 
he  is  exclusively  dealing  with  the  crime  and  punishment  of 
Edom.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  probable  that  he  wrote  after 
the  obliteration  of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  for  it  has  wholly 
disappeared  from  his  view.  He  thinks  only  of  the  restoration 
of  Jerusalem.  He  does  indeed  mention  the  house  of  Jacob 
and  the  house  of  Joseph,  and  says  that  "  they  shall  possess 
their  possessions"  (17,  18),  yet,  in  the  following  verse,  he 
says  that  "  they  of  Negeband  the  vShephelah  (i.e.,  the  southern 
division  and  the  maritime  plain)  oi  Jitdah  should  occupy  not 
only  the  Mount  of  Esau,  but  also  the  fields  of  Ephraim  and  of 
Samaria  :  and  then,  as  though  there  were  only  one  other  tribe 
to  be  provided  for,  he  assigns  to  Benjamin  the  Transjordanic 
possessions  of  the  two  and  a  half  tribes  of  Reuben,  Gad,  and 
Manasseh."  It  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  certain  that 
Obadiah  wrote  after  the  deportation  of  the  northern  tribes  by 
the  Assyrians.  And  this  becomes  still  more  probable  if  in  verse 
17  we  read  with  the  LXX.,  Vulgate,  and  Targum,  "  the  house  of 
Jacob  shall  inherit  thc'r  dlsinheriiors"  which  only  involves  a 
very  slight  change  of  points,  and  saves  the  prophecy  from  self- 
contradiction.^ 

And  this  inference  is  strengthened  by  verse  20.  In  this 
verse  he  says  that  "  the  captivity  of  this  host  of  the  children  of 
Israel  which  the  Canaanites  (have  carried  captive)  even  unto 
Zarephath,  and  the  captivity  of  Jerusalem  which  is  in  Scpharad 
shall  possess  the  cities  of  the  south."  The  rendering  of  the 
verse  is  indeed  uncertain,  and  in  the  form  just  quoted  it  differs 
both  from  the  text  and  the  margin  of  the  Authorised  Version. 
Yet  it  is  clear  that  the  prophet  is  speaking  of  a  body  of 
captives.  They  are  not  in  Babylonia,  and  this  is  a  point 
which  we  find  it  difficult  to  explain.  They  are  among  the 
Canaanites  in  Phcenicia  l^'' even  unto  Sarcpta"),  and  in 
Scpharad  ;  and  Obudiah  seems  to  identify  himself  with  the 
former  body  when  he  speaks  of  "  the  captivity  of  this  host." 

'  Nebuchadrezzar  is  the  proper  forpi  of  the  name— Nabu-kuduri-utsur, 
Ncbo  is  the  protect jr  against  misjortune,  or  Nebo  Jrfend  the  rnnvu—as  in 
Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel.    But  the  form  used  by  later  Jewish  writers  prevailed. 

■  Sue  Rowland  Williams,  "  Hebrew  Prophets,"  i.  87. 


OBADIAH.  177 

The  only  explanation  ofifered  is  that  Obadiah  "  may  have  been 
one  of  the  many  inhabitants  of  Judah  who  had  to  flee  before 
the  Babylonish  inroad,  and  were  afterwards  spread  as  homeless 
exiles  through  the  cities  of  Palestine  and  Phcenicia." ' 

This  is  only  a  conjecture,  and  the  word  rendered  host  (^n) 
here,  and  in  verse  11,  is  so  unusual  that  Ewald  supposed  it  to 
be  of  Assyrian  origin.  It  may  possibly  mean  "bulwark"  or 
"  sea-coast." 

Equally  uncertain  is  the  allusion  to  "Sepharad."  It  is  the 
origin  of  the  expression  "  Sephardim,"  which  distinguishes  the 
Spanish  Jews  from  the  Ashkenazim  or  German  Jews.  The 
modern  Jews  take  it  to  mean  "  Spain,"  and  interpret  Zarephath 
to  mean  France.  But  the  discovery  of  the  name  Cparda  for 
Sardis  (between  Cappadocia  and  Ionia)  in  the  Behistun  In- 
scription seems  to  make  it  probable  that  Sepharad  is  Sardis. 
The  prophetic  promise  is  that  as  the  restored  exiles  of 
Judah  and  Benjamin  shall  occupy  Idumea,  Philistia,  and 
the  lands  of  the  northern  tribes,  and  the  territory  east  of 
Jordan,  so  the  other  scattered  exiles  in  Phoenicia  and  in  Lydia 
and  other  countries  shall  come  back  and  occupy  the  vacant 
regions  of  the  Ne;^eb.  Sardis  is  specially  mentioned  as 
the  capital  of  the  country,  which  was  a  great  slave  market 
in  the  ancient  world,  and  contained  multitudes  of  the  Jews  of 
the  Dispersion.  It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that  Obadiah 
wrote  shortly  after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadrezzar, 
about  B.C.  587. 

It  has  been  objected  that  if  this  had  been  the  case  his 
prophecy  would  have  been  placed  in  the  canon  not  after 
Amos,  but  rather  between  the  prse- Chaldean  prophets  and 
those  who  belong  to  the  period  after  the  Exile.  But  there  is 
no  weight  in  this  consideration.  The  date  of  Obadiah  was 
not  known  with  precision,  and  he  was  placed  next  to  Amos 
because  his  prophecy  of  the  doom  of  Edom  is  an  amplifica- 
tion of  the  doom  pronounced  upon  that  nation  by  the  earlier 
prophet  (Amos  ix.  12). 

The  immediate  origin  of  the  prophecy  is  the  brutality  ol 
Edom  in  rejoicing  over  the  capture  and  ruin  of  Jerusalem 
(10-14).  In  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  the  Jews  had  been 
commanded,  "Thou  shalt  not  abhor  an  Edomite,  for  he  is  thy 
brother"  ;  and  although  the  relations  between  the  two  kindred 
»  "  lSi)eaker's  Commentary. " 
13 


178  TIIR    MINOR    PROI'HIilS. 

peoples  had  often  been  far  from  satisfactory,  yet  belter  things 
might  have  been  expected  from  the  Edomites  than  that  they 
should  not  only  exult  savagely  over  the  destruction  of  Juuah, 
but  even  cut  off  the  bands  of  miserable  lugilives  and  hound  on 
the  ruthless  ravagers. 

The  capture  of  Jerusalein  here  alluded  to  can  hardly  be  any 
other  than  its  capture  t)y  Nebuchadrezzar.  No  such  circum- 
stances as  those  alluded  to  by  Obadiah  occurred  eilher  in  the 
occupation  of  Jerusalem  by  Shishak  in  the  reign  of  Rehoboam  ; 
or  in  the  sack  of  the  city  by  Philistines  and  Arabians  in  the 
reign  of  Jehoram  (2  Chron.  xxi.  16,  17)  ;  or  after  the  defeat  of 
Amaziah  by  Joash,  king  of  Israel  (2  Chron.  xxv.  23).  But 
the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  the  king  of  Babylon  was  a  far 
more  terrible  disaster  than  these,  and  although  we  are  not 
historically  told  that  the  Edomites  had  seized  this  opportunity 
of  glutting  their  vengeance,  we  know  that  they  did  so  from 
the  bitter  complaints,  not  only  of  Obadiah,  but  of  other  prophets. 
Thus  in  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  the  prophet  ironically 
bids  the  daughter  of  Edom  to  rejoice  and  be  glad  over  the  fall 
of  Judah,  but  immediately  adds,  as  Obadiah  does,  a  threat  of 
vengeance  upon  her,  and  a  promise  of  restoration  to  his 
countrymen  (Lam.  iv  21,  22).  Ezckiel  addresses  Edom  and 
Judah  in  exactly  similar  terms  (Exek.  xxv.  12-14  !  xxxv.  1-15  ; 
xxxvi.  1-15).  Again,  in  the  137th  Psalm,  the  poet,  perhaps  a 
Levite  who  had  returned  from  captivity  after  the  decree  of 
Cyrus,  still  recalls  with  indignation  the  exultant  malice  of  the 
Edomites  when,  at  every  crashing  fall  of  the  hammers  and 
axes  which  were  demolishing  the  ramparts  of  Jerusalem  and 
her  sacred  temple,  they  shouted  to  the  heathen  destroyers, 
"  Down  with  it  !  down  with  it  even  to  the  ground  !  " ' 

The  Jews  forgot  indeed  the  frightful  provocation  which 
Edom  had  received.  If  the  Edomites  had  shown  a  churlish 
unfriendliness,  dictated  perhaps  by  selfish  alarm,  in  refusing  to 
allow  the  Israelites  to  pass  through  their  territory  in  the  days 
of  the  Exodus,  that  wrong  had  been  punished  when  they  had 
been  conquered  by  David  ;  -  and  though  they  won  back  their 
independence  in  the  days  of  Jehoram  (15. c.  S89),  they  had  Ijeen 
again  crushed  by  Amaziah  (B.C.  838).^     It  was  but  natural  that 

•  See  Lam.  iv.  21,  22  ;  Ezek.  xxxv.  1-15  ;  Isa.  Ixiii.  1-6  ;  Psa.  cxxxvii.  7; 
Esdras  iv.  45-56. 

3  Sam.  viii.  14  ;  comp.  i  Kings  ix.  26.  3  2  Chron.  xxv.  11,  la. 


OBADIAH.  179 

they  should  make  an  effort  to  recover  their  lost  territories  as 
Judah  began  to  be  shorn  of  her  powers.'  But  there  was  an 
element  of  ignoble  ferocity  in  their  malignant  triumph  over  a 
foe  utterly  humiliated  and  struck  down.  No  memory  of  old 
wrongs  would  excuse  them  for  the  baseness  of  trampling 
savagely  upon  the  fallen.  Yet  this  was  what  they  had  done,  as 
we  hear  from  Obadiah.  "  They  stood  in  the  passes  to  intercept 
the  escape  of  those  who  would  have  fled  down  to  the  Jordan 
valley ;  they  betrayed  the  fugitives  ;  they  indulged  their 
barbarous  revels  on  the  Temple  hill."  ^  This  was  the  mis- 
conduct which  has  awaked  the  long  loud  cry  of  execration 
raised  by  the  Jewish  nation  against  Edom.  "It  is  the  one 
imprecation  which  breaks  forth  from  the  Lamentations  of 
Jeremiah  ;  it  is  the  culmination  of  the  fierce  threats  of 
Ezekiel ;  it  is  the  sole  purpose  of  the  short  sharp  cry  of 
Obadiah  ;  it  is  the  bitterest  drop  in  the  sad  recollections 
oi  the  Israelite  captivas  by  the  waters  of  Babylon ;  and  the 
one  warlike  strain  of  the  evangelical  prophet  is  inspired  by  the 
hope  that  the  Divine  Conqueror  would  come  knee-deep  in 
Idumean  blood."  "Edom"  in  the  Talmud  is  the  cryptograph 
for  Rome,  and  stands  as  the  typical  designation  for  all  the 
deadhest  foes  of  the  House  of  Israel,  and  especially  for  the 
Christians. 

But  there  is  yet  another  circumstance  which  seems  to  show 
that  Obadiah  wrote  shortly  after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by 
the  Chaldeans,  which  had  called  forth  the  frantic  joy  and 
active  co-operation  of  Edom.  It  is  the  circumstance  that 
Jeremiah,  with  his  mind  full  of  the  same  wrath  against  the 
race  of  Esau,  obviously  borrows  some  of  the  language  of  his 
brother  prophet.  No  one  can  read  the  "  burden "  of  Edom 
in  Obadiah  1-9,  side  by  side  with  Jeremiah  xlix.  7-22,  without 
seeing  that  the  two  passages  are  not  independent  of  each  other. 
As  is  usual  in  the  attempts  toaccount  for  all  similar  phenomena, 
the  opinions  of  critics  differ.  Some  maintain  that  Jeremiah 
borrows  from  Obadiah,  others  that  Obadiah  borrows  from 
Jeremiah,3  and  others  again  that  both  of  them  are  utilizing  for 
their  own  purposes  a  passage  from  some  older  prophecy. 

Ewald  adopts  the  third  hypothesis,  and  deduces  from  it 
the    precarious  theory   that    the    brief    prophecy   of  Obadiah 

'  2  Kings  xvi.  6  (read  "  Edomites,"  not  "Syrians  ")  ; 2  Chron.  xxviii.  17 
2  Stanley,  "Jewish  rtnirch,"  ii.  556.  3    Knobcl,  Bleek,  Reuss. 


l8o  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

is  a  composite  structure.  He  supposes  that  the  first  seven 
verses  were  written  by  a  prophet  named  Obadiah  during 
the  inroads  of  Rezin  and  Pekah,  which  harassed  Judea,  and 
enabled  the  Idumeans  to  maraud  her  southern  possessions 
with  impunity,  and  to  establish  themselves  securely  in  their 
rocky  fastnesses  at  Petra  (Sela).  It  was  in  the  reign  of 
Jehoram  that  Jerusalem  was  captured  by  the  Arabs  and 
Philistines  ;  and  referring  verse  ii  to  this  siege,  he  thinks  that 
this  accounts  for  the  silence  about  Assyria  and  Babylon,  and 
also  for  the  use  of  Obadiah  by  Joel.  The  remaining  verses  he 
regards  as  a  compilation  by  a  later  writer,  partly  from  this 
older  prophet  (who  was  also  used  by  Jeremiah)  and  partly  from 
other  sources.  No  adequate  proof  is  offered  for  these  con- 
jectures, and  they  are  contradicted  by  the  unity  alike  of 
thought  and  style  throughout  the  prophecy,  which  forms  a 
perfectly  compacted  whole. 

It  seems  almost  certain  that  Jerenfiah  adopts  the  words  of 
Obadiah,  and  this  is  in  accordance  with  his  general  practice, 
for  in  other  chapters  he  certainly  borrows  the  expressions 
of  Isaiah  and  Amos.'  In  his  prophecy  against  Moab  may 
be  traced  the  impress  of  Isa.  xv.,  xvi.  The  general  unity  of  the 
passage  is  more  clearly  marked  in  Obadiah.  Caspari  offers 
decisive  reasons  for  thinking  that  the  words  of  Obadiah  have 
been  smoothed  down,  modified,  and  made  somewhat  tamer 
by  Jeremiah  ;  but  it  cannot  be  shown  that  Obadiah  did  not 
quote  from  some  older  writer.^ 

If  the  view  which  we  have  taken  of  the  date  of  Joel  be  cor- 
rect, it  is  also  probable  that  Joel,  besides  other  resemblances, 
makes  one  direct  reference  to  Obadiah.  For  Joel  writes  (ii.  32)  : 
"/«  Mount  Zion  and  in  Jerusalem  shall  be  deliverance,  as  the 
Lord  hath  said,  and  in  the  remnant  whom  the  Lord  shall  call  "  : 
and  this  may  very  well  be  an  appeal  to  Obad.  17  :  "  But 
upon  Mount  Zion  shall  be  deliverance,'^  which  is  followed  by  a 
promise  to  the  scattered  remnant  of  Judah  and  Israel. 

If  these  inferences  are  sound,  the  literary  phenomena  of  the 
book  combine  with  its  historical  references  to  show  that  Oba- 
diah's  true  place  in  the  canon  is  not  after  Amos,  but  rather 
between    Isaiah    and    Jeremiah,  and   that    he    bclnngs    to    the 

'  Compare  Jer.  xlviii.  29,  30  ;  xlix.  27,  with  Isa.  xvi.  6,  and  Amos  i.  4. 
'  i'uscy,    "Minor  I'ropliets,"   p.   228.      "Jeremiah  reset  the   words  of 
Obadiah." 


OBADIAH.  18 1 

group  of  the  Minor  Prophets  who  wrote  at  the  period  of  the 
Exile.  His  style,  however,  is  full  of  individuality,  and  he  uses 
several  peculiar  words.  His  book  is  a  favourite  study  of  the 
Jews,  and  it  is  chiefly  from  this  book  that  they  learnt  to  apply 
the  name  Edom  to  Rome,  to  Christians,  and  to  all  their  enemies. 

Nothing  can  be  simpler  than  the  outline  of  the  prophecy.'  It 
falls  into  two  clearly  marked  divisions,  of  which  the  first  (1-16) 
denounces  destruction  to  Edom,  and  the  second  (17-21)  pro- 
phecies the  restoration  of  Israel. 

I.  The  first  division  falls  into  three  sections,  namely  : 

a.  The  prophecy  of  Edom's  punishment  (1-9). 

d.  The  guilt  that  has  called  down  the  vengeance  (10-14). 

c.  The  law  of  retribution  upon  the  heathen  in  general  (15, 
16). 

i  The  sequence  of  thought  is  as  follows  : 
"^  a.  After  the  title  of  the  book,  as  a  vision  concerning  Edom, 
Obadiah  says  that  he  and  his  countrymen  have  heard  from 
Jehovah  of  an  ambassador  who  has  gone  forth  among  the 
heathen  to  rouse  them  to  battle  against  Edom  (i).  She  thinks 
herself  secure  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock— in  her  city  of  Petra, 
built  along  the  high  cliffs  of  the  Sik  ;  but  though  she  exalts  her- 
self as  the  eagle,  and  sets  her  nest  among  the  stars,^  Jehovah 
shall  bring  her  down,  and  make  her  small  among  the  heathen 
(2-4).  It  is  no  mere  predatory  band  that  shall  rob  her ;  no  grape 
gatherers,  who  will  leave  behind  at  least  a  gleaning  of  her  vin- 
tage (5) ;  but  she  shall  be  searched  and  spoiled  to  the  depths  ot 
her  hidden  treasures  (6).  Her  allies— whether  the  neighbouring 
tribes,  or  the  Chaldeans  with  whom  she  had  joined  in  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem — shall  prove  treacherous,  and  make  a 
snare  of  her  very  table,  a  wound  or  net  of  the  bread  which  they 
have  eaten  with  her,''  and  shall  laugh  at  the  simplicity  of  the 
people  who  could  put  faith  in  their  professions  of  friendli- 
ness (7).  And  no  wonder  !  For  God  has  altogether  frustrated  the 
famed  wisdom  of  Edom's  wise  men,-*  so  that  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Mount  Seir  shall  be  cut  off  by  slaughter  (8,  9). 

•  Among  special  commentaries  may  be  mentioned  that  of  Caspar! 
(Leipzig,  1842). 

'  Dr.  Piisey  quotes  from  V.  Scluihert  and  other  authors-  abundant  de- 
scriptions of  the  rocky  fastnesses  of  Petra.  See,  too,  Miss  Martineau's 
"  Eastern  Life,"  ii.  320  ;  Tristram's  "  Natural  History  of  the  Bible,"  175. 

3  Comp.  Psa.  Ixix.  22.  *  Comp.  Jer.  xlix.  7  ,  Baruch  iii.  22,  23. 


I'S2  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

And  why  must  this  be  ? 

b.  It  is  the  penalty  of  Edom's  adherence  to  the  foreign  in- 
vaders who  had  divided  by  lot  the  spoils  and  captives  of  Jeru- 
salem (lo,  ii).  And  then,  as  though  in  prophetic  warning 
against  the  very  sins  by  which  they  had  filled  to  the  brim  the 
cup  of  their  iniquity,  "he  dehorts  them  from  malicious  rejoicing 
at  their  brother's  fall,"  first  in  look  and  word  (12),  then  in  overt 
act  and  share  in  their  spoliation  (13),  then  by  cutting  off  their 
fugitives  at  the  crossways,  and  delivering  up  to  the  enemy  their 
scattered  remnant  (13,  14).'  Such  had  been  Edom's  crime— 
"malicious  gazing  on  human  calamity,  forgetful  of  man's 
common  origin,  and  common  liability  to  ill,  which  is  the  worst 
form  of  human  hate.  It  was,"  says  Dr.  Pusey,  "  one  of  the 
contumelies  of  the  cross,  *  They  gaze,  they  look  with  joy 
upon  Me.' '" 

c.  Iherefore  Edom  shall  be  cut  off  for  ever  ;  but  not  Edom 
alone.  The  heathen  in  general  shall  have  to  face  that  "  day 
of  the  Lord "  in  which  the  reward  of  their  misdeeds  shall 
fail  upon  their  own  heads  (15).  The  children  of  God's  chosen 
people  upon  His  holy  mountain  have  been  compelled  for  their 
sins  also  to  taste  the  cup  of  His  displeasure  ;  but  from  them  that 
cup  shall  pass  away  when  its  bitter  and  healing  medicine  has 
done  its  work.  Not  so  shall  it  be  with  the  more  guilty  heathen  : 
they  shall  drink  of  that  cup  continually,  and  be  as  though  they 
had  not  been  (16).^ 

II.  As  is  so  common  among  the  Hebrew  prophets,  this  first 
section  of  the  prophecy'which  deals  with  the  doom  and  threaten- 
ing is  followed  by  a  second  section  in  which  there  is  a  promise 
of  restoration  to  Israel. 

In  Mount  Zion  shall  be  deliverance  and  holiness.  The  House 
of  Jacob  shall  possess  their  dispossessors,  and  shall  burn  like 
an  avenging  flame  for  the  total  consumption  of  the  stubble  of 
the  House  of  Esau  (18). ••  The  territories  of  Judah  shall  be  ex- 
tended. Those  who  had  lived  in  the  south  shall  possess  the 
Mount  of    Esau  ;    the  dwellers    in    the    maritime    plain    shall 

'  Tlie  true  rendering  in  verses  12,  13,  14  is  "Look  not,"  "Speak  not 
promlly,  "  &c.     See  Pusey,  "Minor  Prophets,"  p,  228.  "  Psa.  xxii.  17. 

3  Such  seems  to  be  the  true  meaning  of  this  diflicult  verse.  The  key  to 
the  explanation  of  its  imagery  is  furnislied  by  Jer.  xxv.  15-29  ;  xHx.  12  ; 
Lam.  iv.  21,  22. 

<  Comp.  Numb.  xxiv.  18,  19.  The  word  in  Ohnd.  18  for  "  him  that  re- 
.li'icth  "  is  ilic  same  as  in  Balaam's  prdphccy  [Sir!/). 


OBADIAH.  183 

occupy  Philistia  ;  and  they  of  the  third  or  hill  division  shall 
spread  over  the  lands  of  Ephraim  and  Samaria.  And  since 
Judah  is  thus  to  possess  all  the  territory  west  of  the  Jordan, 
Gilead  is  assigned  to  the  remaining  tribe  of  Benjamin  (19).  But 
other  captive  Israelites  are  still  unprovided  for,  and  therefore 
the  southern  regions  of  the  Holy  Land  shall  be  assigned  to  those 
of  '■'■this  host  (?n='?\'1;  of  the  children  of  Israel"  whom  the 
Phoenicians  have  carried  captive  to  Zarephath — perhaps  a  body 
of  exiles  to  whom  Obadiah  himself  belonged — and  to  the  cap- 
tivity of  Jerusalem  which  is  in  Sepharad  (Sardis)  (20).'  And 
deliverers  shall  be  raised  on  Mount  Zion,  as  in  the  old  days  of 
the  judges,  to  judge  the  Mount  of  Esau.  The  prophecy  ends 
with  a  glimpse  of  a  yet  wider  horizon  :  "And  the  kingdom  shall 
be  the  Lord's." 

As  regards  the  main  prophecy  against  Edom  it  found  abun- 
dant fulfilment-  Edom  felt  secure  in  her  rocky  fastnesses,  above 
all  in  the  apparently  impregnable  gorge  where  Petra  had  been 
built  like  an  eagle's  nest.  Nevertheless,  the  just  judgment  of 
God  could  not  pass  over  the  wicked  tTrixcuptKftx'ia,  that  venomous 
malignity  which  triumphs  in  the  misfortune  and  humiliation  of 
others.  Hence  Edoni  was  doomed  to  perish,  and  did  perish,  by 
a  twofold  destruction — at  the  hands  of  the  heathen  and  at  the 
h.mds  of  the  Jews. 
^  (i.)  First  of  ail  the  Chaldeans,  whom  she  had  aided  and 
abetted,  turned  upon  her,  drove  her  from  her  possessions, 
used  the  pretext  of  mui/al  peace  and  hospitality  for  her  over- 
throw, and  laughed  at  her  imbecile  confidence  in  their  fidelity 
(i,  2,  7J.  How  this  menace  was  fulfilled  we  do  not  know,  but 
that  it  was  fulfilled  seems  certain.  For  when  Obadiah  wrote 
(about  585)  the  Edomites  seem  to  have  been  still  secure  in  their 
clefts  of  rock  ;  but  in  the  time  of  Antigonus  (B.C.  312)  another 
race— the  Nabath;^ans — were  in  possession  of  Petra.^  And 
Josephus  tells  us  that  after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  Nebuchad- 
rezzar subdued  the  Ammonites  and  Moabites,'  and  then,  as 
Jeremiah  had  foretold  (xliii.  8-13),  "fell  upon  Egypt  to  over- 
throw it  " ;  and  it  appears  further  from  Jeremiah  (xxvii-  3-6) 

*  The  verse  is  differently  translated  in  our  A.  V.,  but  the  best  sense  is 
furnished  by  the  rendering  here  adopted.  The  LXX.  read  Ephratah  for 
Sepharad,  and  in  Jerome's  time  the  reading  seems  to  have  been  Euphrates. 
Evvald  preferred  to  read  Sepharain,  a  place  in  North  Palestine. 

'  Diod,  Sic-  xix.  730-  3  *' AnL,"  jc  9  f  7. 


184  THE   MINOR   PROPHKTS. 

that  Edom  was  amonjj  the  countries  that  God  had  given  into  the 

hands  of  the  Chaldean  king.       There  can    therefore  be  Utile 

doubt  that  the  exultation  of  Edom  over   fallen  Jerusalem  was 

short-lived.    And  thus  does — 
.» 

"  Evenlianded  justice 

Commend  the  ingredients  of  tlie  poisoned  chalice 

To  our  own  lips. " ' 

ii.  But,  further,  Obadiah  prophesied  that  in  the  day  of  uni- 
versal retribution  Edom  should  perish  with  all  the  heathen  (15), 
and  should  be  devoured  by  the  fire  of  the  House  of  Jacob  and 
Joseph  (18),  and  their  land  possessed  by  those  who  had  dwelt  in 
the  southern  divisions  of  Judah  (19).  This,  too,  was  generally 
accomplished.  Judas  ISlaccabeus,  in  B.C.  166,  dispossessed  the 
Jidomites  from  Hebron  and  Southern  Palestine,  and  John 
Hyrcanus  in  i?.c.  135  took  some  of  the  Idumean  cities,  and 
forced  their  inhabitants  to  submit  to  "  the  rest  of  the  Jewish 
ways  of  living.  At  which  time,  therefore,  this  befel  them,  that 
they  were  hereafter  none  other  than  Jews."'  Lastly,  in  the 
linal  war  against  Rome  (B.C.  66),'  Simon  of  Gerasa  devastated 
the  whole  Idumean  country  with  fire  and  sword,  and  that  with 
so  consummate  a  ravage  that  "  there  was  no  sign  remaining  of 
those  places  that  had  been  laid  waste,  that  ever  they  had  a 
l)eing."* 

In  the  eschatology  of  Obadiah  there  is  little  which  dis- 
tinguishes him  from  other  prophets.  The  features  on  which  he 
dwells — the  deliverance  of  the  captives  of  Judah,  the  sanctity  of 
Mount  Zion,  the  judgment  of  the  heathen,  the  establishment  of 
Jehovah's  kingdom — are  those  which  are  common  to  nearly  all 
I  he  prophets  from  the  days  of  Amos,  and  still  more  from  the 
days  of  Isaiah. 

»  See  Ewald,  "  History  of  Israel,"  iv.  276.  Eng.  tr. 

*  I  Mace.  V.  3,  65.    Josephus,  "Ant.,"  xii.  8  ^  6. 

3  Josephus.  "  Ant.,"  xiii.  9,  ^  i.  *  Josephus,  "  Bell.  Jud.,"  iv.  9,  {  7. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

HAGGAI. 

Haggai — Beginning  of  an  inferior  order  of  Prophets — The  returning  exiles 
— Analysis  of  the  book — Its  difficulties. 

CHRONOLOGY  AFTER  THE  EXILE. 


B.C. 

536.  Cyrus. 

—  Return    of   the    Exiles   under 

Zerubbabel  and  Jeshua. 
534.  Temple  foundation  laid. 
529.  Cambyses. 
522.  Pseudo-Sinerdis. 

—  Edict  prohibiting  the  continu- 

ance of  the  building, 
521.  Darius  Hystaspis. 
520.  Haggai     )  .      .    .  , 

—  Zechariahh^g'"*°P''°Ph^^y- 


B.C. 

517.  Completion  of  Temple. 
486.  Xerxes  (Ahasuenis  of  Esther). 
465.  Artaxerxes  I.  (Longimanus). 
458.  Return  of  Ezra. 
444.  Nehemiah  visits  Jerusalem. 
433.  Nehemiah  returns  to  Persia. 
425.  Death  of  Artaxerxes. 
* —     Return  of  Nehemiah  to  Jeru- 
salem. 
—    Approximate  date  of  Malachi. 


With  Haggai  we  enter  upon  a  new  and  unquestionably  inferior* 
phase  of  prophecy,  that  of  the  prophets  who  lived  after  the  Exile. 
Prophets  they  still  were,  and  their  utterances  still  possess  the 
highest  importance  ;  but  they  are  lacking  in  the  impassioned 
fervour,  the  splendid  poetry,  the  penetrating  style  of  their 
greater  predecessors.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  Isaiah  or 
Habakkuk  writing  in  the  style  of  Haggai,  and  deeming  it 
necessary  to  adopt  the  same  straining  of  emphasis  in  the 
reiterations  of  the  Divine  name.'  Their  comparative  poverty 
of  thought  and  expression  reflects  the  depressed  and  humble 
circumstances  of  their  nation  in  the  days  in  which  they  wrote. 
Israel  had  disappeared  ;  Judah  had  a  king  no  longer  ;  the 
mass  of  the  nation  lived  in  scattered  communities  of  exiles 
in  Babylonia  and  Assyria  ;  those  who  had  returned  were  few 
in  number,  insignificant  in  importance.  Judea — which  had 
risen  to  such  splendour  in  the  days  of  David  and  Solomon  ; 
which  had  maintained  her  independence  for  five  centuries  under 

'  As  in  the  constant  repetition  of,  "saitli  the  Lord  of  Hosts," 


l86  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

a  long  line  of  Davidic  kings  ;  which  had  seen  the  armies  of 
Assyria  melt  away  from  beneath  her  walls  ;  which  had  not 
only  defied  the  neighbouring  powers  of  Phoenicia  and  the 
Philistines  on  the  east,  and  of  Edom  and  Moab  on  the  west, 
but  had  even  been  able  to  hold  her  own  against  the  towering 
ambition  of  the  dynasties  of  Syria  and  of  Egypt — had  now  at 
last  sunk  into  one  of  the  pettiest  and  most  wretched  fractions 
of  a  satrapy  of  the  Persian  Empire,  and  had  become  the 
laughingstock  of  contemptible  local  princelings,  without  any 
power  to  protect  herself  from  insult. 

The  exiles,  with  what  was  left  of  the  Temple  vessels  which 
Nebuchadrezzar  had  taken  away,  returned  under  the  care  of 
Zerubbabel  (called  by  the  Persians,  Sheshbazzar),  and  of  Jeshua 
the  high  priest,  in  accordance  with  the  decree  of  Cyrus,  B.C.  536. 
Zerubbabel  was  invested  by  the  Persian  king  with  the  office  of 
Pechah  or  governor.'  During  the  next  two  years  they  set  up 
the  great  altar  of  burnt  sacrifice,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
Temple  amid  the  mingled  sounds  of  joy  and  weeping.  When 
this  was  done  the  Samaritans  and  others,  who  were  partly 
idolaters  as  well  as  partly  worshippers  of  Jehovah,  wished  to  be 
allowed  a  share  in  the  building.  Their  overtures  were  rejected, 
and  Rehum  and  Shimshai  at  once  plotted  against  the  Jews,  and 
so  effectually  aroused  the  jealousy  of  the  Persian  Court  that  the 
building  was  hindered  during  the  reigns  of  Cyrus  and  Ar- 
taxerxes  I.  and  down  to  B.C.  520,  the  second  year  of  Darius 
Hystaspes."  It  was  at  this  time  that  Haggai  and  Zechariah 
began  to  awaken  the  long-silent  voice  of  prophecy,  and  it 
was  their  main  function  to  arouse  the  Jews  to  renew  their 
efforts.  The  satrap  Tatnai  with  Shethar-boznai,  appealed  to 
Darius  to  know  whether  the  Jews  had  his  sanction  for  this 
new  enterprize.  The  original  decree  of  Cyrus  permitting  the 
building  of  the  Temple  was  discovered  in  the  Persian  archives, 
and  Darius  renewed  it.  The  satrap  was  sternly  ordered  to 
see  the  work  expedited,  and  thus  the  temple  was  finished  and 
dedicated  about  B.C.  515,  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Darius.  These  facts  are  related  in  Ezra  i-vi.,  and  they  accord 
with  the  data  which  we  derive  from  the  contemporary  prophets.' 

'  The  name  has  no  connection  with  Pacha. 

'  Ezra  iv.  23,  24.  There  must  have  been,  however,  much  languor  and 
neglect  on  the  part  of  the  Jews  themselves. 

3  Some  have  supj^oscd  that  Haggai  was  tlie  autlior  of  parts  of  P2zra 
iii.  2-vj. 


HAGGAI. 


1S7 

The  name   Haggai  means  "the  Festal,"  '  and  probably  indi- 
cates that  he  was  born  on  some  Jewish  feast-day.     Although  he 
is  mentioned  with  Zechariah  in  Ezra  v.   i.,  vi.  14,  he  was  pro- 
bably much  older  than  his  colleague.    He  has  carefully  preserved 
even  to  the  very  day  the  date  of  his  prophecies,  which  were 
confined  to  the  narrow  period  of  four  months.     They  all  belong 
to  B.C.  520,  and  were  delivered  in  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  ninth 
months  of  that  year,  whereas  the  oldest  prophecies  of  Zechariah 
were  spoken  in  the  eighth  and  eleventh  months  of  the  same  year. 
No  doubt  they  were  delivered  orally,  in  the  hearing  of  the  people 
gathered  together  at  the  festivals  of  the  new  moon  and  of  Taber- 
nacles, and  at  the  period  of  the  autumn  rains.     They  all  centre 
in  the  one  object  of  demanding  and  encouraging  the  completion 
of  the  Temple,  of  which  as  yet  only  the  foundations  had  been 
laid.     The  first  address  reproaches  the  people  for  indolently 
listening  to  the  dilatory  and  interested  advisers   who  tried  to 
persuade  them  that  the  time  for  continuing  the  work  was  not 
opportune  (i.  2-1 1).      The  second  encourages  them  with  the 
assurance  that  the  latter  glory  of  the  house  shall  be  greater 
than  the  former  (ii.  1-9).     The  third  promises  them  tha^t  from 
the  day  when  they  seriously  undertook  the  task,  God's  anger, 
which  had  long  been  shown  in  years  of  drought  and  famine' 
should    be   changed  into   blessing   shown  by  fruitful  harvests 
(ii.  10-19).     The  fourth  conveys  a  brief  special  promise  to  the 
Davidic  prince  Zerubbabel. 

We  know  nothing  more  of  Haggai.^  We  might  ask  with 
surprise  why  he  should  have  remained  silent  from  B.C.  535  to 
B.C.  520  ;  and  have  then  suddenly  sprung  into  activity  to 
demand,  in  conjunction  with  Zechariah,  the  resumption  of  the 
neglected  task  of  restoring  the  House  of  God.  The  reason  is, 
perhaps,  to  be  found  in  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiah  (xxv.  n),  and 

•  Or.  perliaps,  "  my  feasts,"  or  "  feasts  of  Jehovah  "  (if  abbreviated  from 
Haggiah,  i  Chron.  vi.  30). 

^  In  the  Vulgate  Fsa.  cxi.  is  called  Alleluia  reversionis  A^^ci  ei  Zacha- 
riae;  and  Psa.  cxlv.  Alleluia  Aggei  et  Zachariae.  In  the  LXX.  his  name 
is  prefixed,  with  that  of  Zechariah,  to  Psalms  cxxxviii.  cxlvi-cxlviii.  and  in 
the  Peshito  to  Psalms  cxxvi.,  cxxvii.,  cxlvi-cxlviii.,  and  as  some  of  these  are 
the  Psalms  known  as  "the  five  Hallelujahs,"  there  arose  a  legend  (men- 
tioned by  Pseudo-Epiphanius)  that  "  Haggai  was  the  first  to  chant  the 
Hallelujah  m  the  Temple  "  (Mr.  Jennings,  in  Bp.  Ellicotfs  Commentarv) 
Hagga.  IS  alluded  to  in  i  Esdr.  vi.  i,  vii.  3  ;  2  Esdr.  i.  40  ;  and  his  pro- 
phecies in  Ecclus.  xlix.  11  ;  Heb.  xii.  26. 


1 88  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

the  approaching  completion  of  the  seventy  years  during  which 
he  had  prophesied  that  the  house  should  be  desolate.  This, 
together  with  the  providential  change  in  the  Persian  Govern- 
ment, when  Darius  revolted  against  the  Magian  usurper 
Pseudo-Smerdis,  may  have  aroused  Haggai  to  his  sense  of  a 
Divine  call.  Jerusalem  had  been  destroyed  by  Nebuchadrezzar, 
H.C.  586  ;  by  the  time  of  the  completion  of  the  Temple  the 
seventy  years  of  its  ruin  were  fulfilled. 

Though  the  style  of  Haggai  is  prosaic,  and  full  of  repetitions, 
the  success  which  attended  his  exhortations  is  a  sufficient  proof 
that  they  were  well  adapted  for  their  purpose. 

First  address. — Arise  arid  Bia'/d  {\.  i-ii). 

Haggai  tells  us  with  exactness  that  the  word  of  the  Lord 
came  to  him,  "  in  the  second  year  of  Daritis  the  king  (b.c.  520),' 
in  the  sixth  month  (Elul,  or  part  of  September),  on  the  first  day 
of  the  month."  No  doubt  at  the  new  moon  the  people  would 
be  assembled,  and  the  lack  of  any  sacred  building  would  be 
more  pressingly  felt.  The  prophecy  was  addressed  to  Zerub- 
babel,  son  of  Pedaiah  (i  Chron.  iii.  19),  grandson  of  Shealtiel, 
and  legal  if  not  actual  grandson  of  Jehoiachin  or  Jeconiah,  who 
had  been  carried  captive  to  Babylon  ;'  and  to  Jeshua  the  son 
of  Josedech,  the  high  priest,  whose  father  Seraiah  had  been 
killed  by  Nebuchadrezzar.^  They  were  the  two  chief  rulers. 
Zerubbabel  had  been  appointed  by  Cyrus  to  be  governor  of 
Judah,  the  designation  which  was  now  given  to  the  Holy  Land 
in  general.* 

There  were  many  who  dissuaded  the  Jews  from  any  attempt 
to  rear  the  superstructure  of  the  Temple  upon  the  foundations 
which  had  been  laid  more  than  fourteen  years  before.  They 
argued  that  the  time  had  not  yet  come.  Haggai  asks  them 
whether,  then,  it  was  time  for  them  to  dwell  in  their  own  ceiled 
houses  while  the  House  of  God  lay  waste  P^  He  bids  them  in 
the  name  of  Jehovah  to  look  at  the  predominant  wretchedness 

'  The  prophecy  is  naturally  dated  from  the  reign  of  the  Persian  king, 
since  Zerubbabel  was  not  an  independent  prince. 

»  See  I  Chron.  iii.  17,  19.    On  his  descent  see  the  commentators. 

3  I  Chron.  vi.  15  ;  2  Kings  xxv.  18  ;  Jer.  Iii.  24.  Jeshua  had  himself 
been  taken  into  captivity,  and  must  therefore  at  this  time  have  been  aa 
old  man.  *  Comp.  Gen.  xlix.  10. 

S  Their  feelings  were  a  great  contrast  to  those  of  David  (2  Sam.  vii.  a 
Psa.  cxxxii.  4). 


HAGGAI.  I«9 

of  their  present  circumstances.  There  was  no  prosperity  in  the 
community  ;  all  their  undertakings  were  smitten  with  failure. 
If  they  sought  the  explanation  of  this  unsuccess  let  them  con- 
sider their  ways,  and  then  go  up  to  the  mountains  and  hew  down 
wood,  and  build  the  House  of  God  to  His  honour.  Theii 
neglect  of  this  duty  has  been  the  cause  of  their  bad  harvests 
in  the  prevailing  drought  (2-1 1). 

This,  with  a  good  deal  of  repetition  and  emphasis,  is  the 
single  thought  and  message  of  the  first  address,  which  is,  how- 
ever, accompanied  by  the  promise :  "  And  I  will  take  pleasure 
in  it,  and  will  be  glorified,  saith  the  Lord."  By  some  accident 
the  word  "and  I  will  be  glorified"  (n3DXl)  has  not  got  the 
paragogic  letter  n  at  the  end  of  it.  The  Jews  in  this,  as  in 
every  minute  variation  of  any  letter  in  the  text,  saw  a  hidden 
mystery.'  The  letter  n  stands  for  5  and  they  therefore  argued 
that,  in  spite  of  the  glory  of  the  latter  house,  five  things 
would  be  wanting  to  it.  They  were  not  exactly  agreed  as  to 
what  the  five  things  were,  but  usually  enumerated  them  as  being 
— I.  The  ark  and  its  mercy-seat.  2.  The  Shechinah,  or  glory 
cloud  in  the  Holiest.  3.  The  fire  that  descended  from  heaven. 
4.  The  Urim  and  Thummim,  and— 5.  The  Spirit  of  Prophecy. 

The  limitation  of  Haggai's  message,  and  the  narrowness  01 
his  appeal,  no  less  than  the  tedious  movement  of  his  style, 
mark  that  low-water  of  national  depression  which  even  af- 
fected the  prophets  themselves.  He  sees  his  countrymen  un- 
successful, greedy  for  self-interest,  egotistically  occupied  in 
building  and  adorning  their  own  houses,  dead  to  patriotic 
inspiration,  and  listening  to  selfish  excuses.  Meanwhile  the 
free  and  splendid  voice  of  prophecy  had  been  weakened  by  the 
burdensome  pressure  of  Levitism,  and  the  spiritual  timidity 
connected  with  small  scrupulosities  of  external  service. 
Haggai  is  "the  most  matter-of-fact  of  all  the  prophets"— 
oiiinino  prosauus,  as  Bishop  Louth  calls  him.  He  seems  to 
conceive  of  the  religious  influences  of  the  Messianic  age  as  all 
radiating  from  a  material  Temple,  which  yet  passed  away  shortly 
after  the  Saviour's  Advent,  and  had  neither  successor  nor 
counterpart  in  the  New  Dispensation.  Instead  of  arousing 
them  with  such  trumpet-blasts  of  moral  awakenment  as  Amos 
and  Isaiah  had  breathed  of  old,  Haggai  mainly  appeals  to 
motives  of  temporal  expediency.  He  does  not  stir  them  to 
'  Yoma,  fol.  21b. 


190  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

high  aspirations  after  ideal  and  spiritual  blessings,  but  only 
reproaches  them  for  the  single  fault  of  neglecting  the  material 
Temple,  and  urges  them  to  the  duty  of  building  it  by  a  promise 
of  material  prosperity.  His  message  to  Zerubb.ibel  and  Jeshua 
as  representatives  of  the  people  reduces  itself  to  this — You 
have  had  drought  and  poverty  ;  therefore  build  the  Temple.  So 
far  as  his  actual  language  goes,  he  only  dwells  on  an  external 
remedy  for  an  external  disadvantage.  The  blame,  however, 
does  not  lie  with  him.  A  commonplace  people  is  hardly  capable 
of  listening  to  any  except  an  ordinary  prophet,  and  by  the 
faithful  discharge  of  the  small  and  narrow  mission  which  was 
alone  assigned  to  him,  Haggai  paved  the  way  for  belter 
things. 

His  message  he  tells  us  was  successful.  God  stirred  up  the 
spirit  of  the  rulers  and  the  people  to  perform  His  own  will,  and 
twenty-four  days  later  some  beginning  of  the  work  was  actually 
made,  which  was  encouraged  by  the  brief  message  of  the 
prophet  to  the  builders  that  God  was  with  them  (i.  12-15). 

Second  address. —  Comfort  and  promise  (ii.  1-9). 

A  month  elapsed,  and  on  the  twenty-first  day  of  the  seventh 
month  (Tisri) '  namely,  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  in  October,''  Haggai  was  again  sent  to  address 
God's  message  to  the  people  and  their  chiefs,  whose  zeal  was 
little  better  than  fire  in  straw,  and  had  apparently  died  out. 

All  the  old  men  who  had  seen  the  Temple  of  Solomon  be- 
fore its  destruction  by  the  Babylonians,  could  not  but  be  struck 
by  the  comparative  poverty  of  the  second  House.  It  is  true  that 
there  was  no  great  difiference  in  the  dimensions,  which  were 
intended  to  cover  the  same  space  ;  but  whereas,  in  the  days 
of  Solomon,  there  had  been  immense  preparations  of  hewn 
marble,  and  gold,  and  silver,  and  brass,  and  cedar  wood,  and 
other  precious  materials,  the  rising  House  spoke  necessarily 
of  the  poverty-stricken  efforts  of  a  band  of  returning  exiles. 
Where  was  the  golden  ark,  with  its  priceless  treasures  and 
its  rich  associations  ?  Where  was  the  breastplate  of  oracular 
gems  ?  Where  the  molten  sea,  and  its  supporting  oxen  .■' 
Where  the  two  magnificent  pillars,  Jachin  and  IJoaz  ?  As  they 
asked  these  questions,  the  people  might  well  feel  discouraged. 

•  Its  proper  Jewish  name  was  Ethunim,  i  Kings  viii.  2. 
■  Lev.  xxiii.  34. 


HAGGAI.  191 

The  prophet  is  bidden  to  rouse  these  drooping  hopes  by  the 
promise  of  future  glories.  They  were  to  be  strong,  for  God  was 
with  them,  and  had  not  forgotten  His  old  covenant  in  the  day 
of  their  deliverance  from  Egypt.  The  day  was  near  at  hand' 
when  He  would  shake  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  all  nations,* 
and  the  desirable  things  of  all  nations  should  come  to  that 
house,  and  its  latter  glory  should  be  greater,  "  and  in  this  place 
will  I  give  peace,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ''  (ii.  1-9). 

This  is  the  most  remarkable  part  of  Haggai's  prophecy.  The 
people  had  girded  themselves  to  their  sacred  task  ;  his  next 
object  was  to  encourage  them  in  its  accomplishment.  He 
animates  their  small  faith,  and  kindles  their  dwindling  courage 
by  a  definite  and  magnificent  promise.  We  are  accustomed  to 
speak  of  "  the  Temple  of  Solomon  "  ;  "  the  Temple  of  Zerub- 
babel  "  ;  ''the  Temple  of  Herod'' ;  but  to  the  Jews  the  Temple 
was  throughout  the  ages  one  and  the  same,  and  Haggai  did  not 
say,  as  in  our  Authorised  Version,  "the  glory  of  this  latter 
house  shall  be  greater  than  the  glory  of  the  former,"  but  rather, 
"  the  latter  glory  of  this  house  shall  be  greater."  And  this 
latter  glory  should  be  twofold.  After  some  dread  manifestation 
of  Jehovah's  power  and  presence,  the  nations  should  bring  into 
this  Temple  their  costliest  treasures,  and  from  it  they  should 
receive  something  more  costly  than  all  their  treasures — even  the 
gift  of  peace. 

The  translation  of  the  Vulgate,  '"  Etveniet  desidn-atus  cmictis 
j^etitibiis''  has  been  perpetuated  by  Luther's  '■'■Da  soil  dann 
kcnnmen  aller  Heiden  Irost,'"  and  by  the  translation  of  our 
Authorised  Version  '■^  and  the  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come.'^ 
And  this  has  been  interpreted  to  be  a  direct  prophecy  of  the 
visits  of  Christ  to  this  later  Temple.  The  translation  is  un- 
tenable. The  verb  is  in  the  plural,  and  the  words  merely 
imply,  what  was  also  promised  in  Isa.  Ix.  5-13,  that  the 
nations  should  bring  to  the  second  Temple  their  costly  trea- 
sures. The  promise  was  fulfilled  by  the  splendid  gifts  which 
the  Temple  received  from  Darius  (Ezra  vi.  6-12),  Artaxerxes 
(Ezra  vii.  12-26)  and  other  later  Gentile  princes  (2  Mace.  iii.  2  ; 
Josephus,  "  Bell.  Jud.,"  ii.  17,  3)  ;  and  still  more  by  the  splendid 

'  Ver.  6,  "  It  is  yet  a  little  while."  Ewald  compares  the  German  phrase, 
noch  eine  Minvte. 

*  Quoted  and  adopted  in  Heb.  xii.  26-29. 


192  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

donations  of  Herod,  the  princes  of  Adiabene,  and  many  others.' 
Haggai  has  no  definite  prophecy  of  Christ  in  this  passage  as 
was  supposed,  yet  only  in  Christ,  and  in  the  fact  that  He 
taught  in  the  Temple,  does  this  prophecy  receive  its  ideal 
fulfihnent.  To  Haggai  the  time  of  the  mighty  shaking  of 
the  nations — the  fall  of  Persia  before  Greece,  the  splitting 
asunder  of  the  Empire  of  Alexander,  the  wars  of  Syria  and 
Egypt,  the  dominance  and  ultimate  fall  of  Rome — seemed 
close  at  hand,  but  it  was  only  close  at  hand  in  the  eyes  of  Him 
to  whom  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day.  The  birth  of  the 
Messiah  was  still  more  than  five  hundred  years  distant;  but  the 
epoch  which  should  be  concluded  by  His  birth  had  already 
begun,  and  the  preliminary  tremors  of  that  vast  earthquake 
which  ultimately  shook  down  the  Jewish  polity  and  the  glory 
of  Greece  and  the  Roman  Empire  were  not  long  delayed. 
Haggai's  words  were  more  limited  than  the  facts  which  corres- 
ponded to  them.  His  Temple  was  the  humble  building  of 
stone,  but  the  Temple  of  which  it  was  the  symbol  was  the 
Church  of  God  ;  and  the  glory  of  the  temple  of  the  Exiles 
was  not  to  consist  in  riches  and  jewels  which  were  to  be  con- 
tributed to  it  by  all  nations,  but  in  the  Incarnate  Presence  of 
the  Son  of  God. 

Third  address. — A  promise  that  plenty  shall  reward  the  fuU 
fthnent  of  the  ditty  (ii.  10-19). 

Again,  two  months  later,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  the 
ninth  month  (A'/sleu),  at  the  falling  of  the  earlier  rain  in 
December,  the  prophet  has  his  message  to  deliver.  Nearly 
four  months  had  elapsed  since  the  utterance  of  his  first  mes- 
sage, and  as  yet  the  condition  of  the  people  had  not  materially 
altered.  The  object  of  his  present  address,  apparently,  was  to 
tell  the  people  that  the  promised  blessing  is  only  to  count 
'■'from  this  day  " — perhaps  the  day  when  all  the  arrangements 
had  been  fully  made,  and  when,  at  some  festal  gathering,  stone 
again  began  to  be  laid  on  stone.  To  bring  this  home  to  the 
people,  he  asks  them,  or  rather  asks  the  priests  in  their  pre- 
sence, two  c|ucstions  pertaining  to  minutiae  of  the  ceremonial 
law.  If  a  priest  carries  in  his  robe  the  flesh  of  a  sacrifice,  the 
robe  (according  to  Lev.  vi.  27)  is  regarded  as  holy.     But  if  the 

'  There  was  a  sort  of  foreshndowinfj  of  its  fulfilment  in  the  ofTerings 
brought  by  wealthy  Babylonian  exiles  (Zech.  vi.  8,  10-15). 


HAGGAI.  193 

skirt  of  his  robe  touches  bread,  pottage,  oil,  wine,  or  flesh,  does 
that  become  holy?  The  Halacha  of  the  priests—/.^.,  the  cere- 
monial rule  which  they  derived  inferentially  and  from  tradition 
—  answered  No  ! 

But  again,  supposing  a  man  has  become  unclean  by  touching 
a  dead  body,  and  then  touched  any  of  these  things,  would  they 
become  thereby  unclean  ?  The  priests,  in  accordance  with  the 
Halacha,  derived  immediately  from  Numbers  xix.  22,  answered 
Yes  ! 

Even  so,  said  the  Prophet,  "  is  this  people  and  this  nation 
before  Me,  saith  the  Lord  ;  and  so  is  every  work  of  their  hands, 
and  that  which  they  offer  there  "—pointing,  no  doubt,  to  the 
great  altar  of  burnt  sacrifice  which  had  been  erected  im- 
mediately after  their  return—"  is  unclean." 

This  was  certainly  a  discouraging  and  startling  message,  and 
if  taken  very  literally  seems  to  rest  on  narrow  and  ceremonial 
grounds.  But  it  has  a  true  general  meaning,  and  one  of  great 
importance.  It  itnplies  that  holiness  is  less  diffusive  and  pene- 
trating in  its  influence  than  sin  ;  and  that  a  partial  externalism 
would  not  atone  for  a  great  transgression.  Everything  the 
people  had  done,  even  their  imperfect  fragment  of  self-chosen 
worship,  had  been  thoroughly  vitiated  by  the  deep  offence  of 
caring  more  for  themselves  and  their  own  houses  than  for 
the  honour  of  God.  A  ceremonial  cleanness  which  such  wor- 
ship involved  did  not  spread  over  the  nation. 

So  then  the  "cleanness,"  the  "holiness,"  of  the  people,  and' 
the  consequent  beginning  of  material  blessing  in  the  form  of 
richer  harvests,  were  only  to  date  from  this  twenty-fourth  day  of 
the  ninth  month,  the  time  of  the  early  rain. 

This  again  seems  hard.  For  the  people  had  now  been  at 
work  for  three  months,  and  surely  the  will  and  the  effort 
constituted  the  praiseworthiness  of  their  conduct,  not  the  mere 
material  act  of  having  completed  the  necessary  preparations 
and  beginning  the  actual  structure.  Some  have  conjectured 
that  i.  15  is  a  later  gloss  ;  that  the  work  in  no  real  sense  began 
until  the  date  now  given,  and  that  it  began  by  laying  the 
foundation  stone,  and  perhaps  by  relaying  the  stone  which, 
according  to  Ezra  iii.  8-12,  had  been  laid  in  B.C.  535. 

Fourth  address. — A  special  promise  to  Zerubbabel.  The 
fourth  message  which  Haggai  had  to  deliver  came  to  him  on 

14 


194  THK   MINOR   PROPHETS. 

the  same  day.  He  was  bidden  to  tell  Zerubbabel  again  that 
God  would  shake  earth  and  heaven  ;  that  He  would  overthrow 
the  might  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  heathen,  and  they  should 
perish  by  mutual  slaughter,  but  "  in  that  day "  the  Lord  of 
hosts  should  take  Zerubbabel,  and  make  him  as  a  signet,'  for 
He  had  chosen  him. 

So  far  as  Zerubbabel  is  concerned  the  prophecy  seems  to 
point  to  a  distant  and  ideal  fulfilment.  We  are  not  aware  that 
any  of  the  terrific  commotions  among  heathen  nations  occurred 
in  his  lifetime,  and  he  seems  to  have  been  personally  deficient 
in  energy,  and  of  such  small  significance  that  he  has  left  hardly 
any  traces  of  himself  in  the  history  or  traditions  of  his  people. 
But  ideally  and  prophetically  regarded,  Zerubbabel  occupies  a 
very  dift'erent  position.  "  How  shall  we  magnify  Zorobabel  ?" 
asks  the  son  of  Sirach  ;  "  even  he  was  as  a  signet  on  the  right 
hand  :  so  was  Jesus,  the  son  of  Josedec  ;  who  in  their  time 
buiided  the  house,  and  set  up  an  holy  temple  to  the  Lord  which 
was  prepared  for  everlasting  glory." ^  He  is  "the  highest 
branch  of  the  high  cedar  planted  in  the  heights  of  the  mountain 
of  Israel  "  of  Ezekiel's  prophecy,'  under  whose  shadow  should 
dwell  all  fowls  of  every  wing,  and  in  whom  all  the  trees  of  the 
field  should  recognize  that  the  Lord  brings  down  the  high  tree, 
and  exalts  the  low  tree,  dries  up  the  green  tree,  and  makes  the 
dry  tree  flourish.  To  Zerubbabel  himself  the  promise  was 
doubtless  fulfilled  in  individual  blessedness,  but  to  the  line 
which  descended  from  him,  and  centred  in  him,  it  was  accom- 
plished with  infinite  fulness.  Through  him  were  preserved  to 
David's  house  "  the  sure  mercies  of  David,"  and  in  both  the 
genealogies  of  the  Lord  Jesus— alike  in  that  of  St.  Matthew 
and  in  that  of  St.  Luke— the  name  of  Zerubbabel  stands  con- 
spicuously enshrined.* 

Apart  from  the  prophetic  intimations  of  Haggai  we  may  see 
three  great  moral  truths  involved  in  his  teaching. 

The  first  is  that  faithfulness  is  directly  connected  with 
material  prosperity.  He  is  commissioned  to  tell  his  people 
that  even  the  blessings  of  the  earth  may  depend — though  they 
do  not  always  and  necessarily  depend — on  the  honour  which 
they  pay  to  God. 

A  second  is  that  discouragement  however  profound  is  not  an 

*  Cant.  viii.  6  ;  Jer.  xxii.  24.  '  Ecclus.  xlix.  11. 

3  Ezek.  xvii.  22-24.  *  Matt.  i.  12  ;  Luke  iii.  27. 


HAGGAI.  195 

adequate  reason  for  neglecting  duties,  even  when  they  seem  to 
be  encompassed  with  difficulty.  "  Be  strong  and  work  "  is  a 
glorious  motto  for  human  life. 

A  third  is  that  when  a  good  work  is  awaiting  its  accom- 
plishment, the  time  to  do  it  is  now.  Thousands  are  always 
eager  to  find  excuses  for  procrastination.  But  the  procrasti- 
nation of  duty  is  an  offence  in  the  eyes  of  God,  and  we  cannot 
look  for  His  blessing  until  our  work  is  strenuously  taken  in  hand. 

Thus  we  find  in  Haggai,  as  in  all  the  prophets,  "that  sin 
brings  judgment  ;  that  judgment  means  mercy,  and  is  designed 
for  correction  ;  that  repentance  secures  the  forgiveness  of  sin  ; 
and  that  amendment  of  life  has  power  to  turn  the  life,  has 
power  to  turn  the  very  curse  of  God  into  a  benediction." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ZECHARIAH.' 

The  name  Zechariah — Various  bearers  of  the  name— Whose  son  ?— Iddo— 
Time  and  outline  of  his  prophecy,  i.  First  address  :  Repent,  i.  P'irst 
vision  :  The  angel  riders,  ii.  The  four  horses  and  four  smiths,  iii. 
The  Restoration  of  Jerusalem,  iv.  The  Priesthood  and  the  Brancli. 
T.  The  golden  candelabrum,  vi.  The  roll  and  the  ephah.  vii.  '1  he 
four  chariots— Historic  appendices  :  i.  The  crowning  of  the  High 
Priest.     2.  The  question  about  fasUng. 

The  name  Zechariah  — "the  Lord  remembers" — is  a  common 
one.  The  prophet  of  this  name  who  wrote  the  first  eight 
chapters  of  this  book  was  a  contemporary  of  Haggai,  and  his 
chief  task,  like  that  of  his  older  colleague,  was  to  rouse  the 
people  to  rebuild  their  ancient  temple  (Ezra  v.  i ;  vi.  i ).  In  Ezra 
he  is  called  "  the  son  of  Iddo  ; ''  he  is  here  called  "  the  son  of 
Berechiah,  the  son  of  Iddo."  Since  the  prophet  Zechariah, 
who  was  stoned  to  death  by  the  people  at  the  commandment 
of  King  Joash  as  a  reward  for  his  faithfulness,  was  a  son  of 
the  High  '2r\tsi  Jchoiada  (2  Chron.  xxiv.  20),  and  since  there  is 
no  tradition  or  probability  that  the  contemporary  of  Haggai 
died  by  martyrdom,  it  is  a  not  improbable  conjecture  that  the 
reference  to  the  murdered  Zechariah  in  Matt,  xxiii.  35  as  a 
'■  son  of  Berechiah  "  results  from  some  confusion  of  the  original 
text.  There  is  yet  another  "Zechariah,  son  of  Jeberechiah," 
who  is  mentioned  in  Isaiah  (viii.  2),  and  since  the  author  of  the 
chapters  ix.-xi.  in  the  present  book  is  different  from  the  author 
of  the  first  eight  chapters,  Bleek  and  others  have  supposed  that 
these  three  chapters  were  written  by  the  Zechariah  whom 
Isaiah  knew,  and  that  the  words  "son  of  Berechiah"  in  the 
first  verse  have  been  transferred  from  the  original  heading  of 

•  .\mong  recent  monographs  on  Zechariah  may  be  mentioned  the  elabo- 
rate Bampton  Lectures  of  Rev.  Dr.  C.  H.  Wright,  1878.  There  is  a  paper 
on  "The  Origin  of  the  Hook  of  Zechariah,"  by  F'rof.  Chcyne  in  The 
Jru'ish  {huiiUi/y  A'a'ieio.  i388. 


ZECHARIAH,  197 

Zech.  ix.  I.  This  is  only  a  conjecture.  The  names  seem  to 
have  been  borne  by  several  persons  of  note,  and  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  the  fact  that  the  author  of  these  eight  chapters 
should  be  called  indifferently  the  "son  of  Berechiah,"  or — from 
his  better-known  grandfather— the  son  of  Iddo  ;  just  as  in  Gen. 
xxix.  5  Laban  is  called  the  son  of  Nahor,  though  he  was  really 
the  son  of  Hethuel. 

We  learn  from  Nehemiah  (xii.  4-16)  that  Iddo  was  the  head 
of  one  of  the  priestly  houses,  and  since  he  returned  from  the 
Exile  with  Zechariah  his  grandson,  the  prophet  must  have 
begun  his  work  while  still  a  young  nian.' 

Like  Haggai,  he  began  to  prophecy  in  the  second  year  of 
Darius  (B.C.  520),  in  the  eighth  month.  The  remainder  of  his 
genuine  prophecy  was  delivered  two  years  later  in  the  fourth 
year  of  Darius  (Zech.  vii.  i).  The  general  bearing  of  his 
prophecy  resembles  that  of  Haggai,  but  it  is  richer  in  extent 
and  more  original  in  form.  The  first  six  chapters  narrate  seven 
visions,  all  of  which  passed  before  the  mind  of  the  prophet  in 
a  single  night,  and  of  which  the  explanations  are  furnished. 
Nightly  vision  was  one  of  the  recognized  sources  of  prophetic 
inspiration  ;  and  we  find  visions  recorded  by  Amos,  Isaiah, 
and  Jeremiah,  Those  of  Zechariah  are  less  striking  and 
less  vivid,  and  we  may  trace  in  them  the  influences  of  the 
Exile,  which  also  accounts  for  the  inferiority  of  style,  and  for 
the  use  of  the  Chaldee  names  of  the  months.  .St.  Jerome  com- 
plains bitterly  of  the  enigmatic  character  of  the  visions,  and 
modern  critics  have  seen  in  them  a  deficiency  of  true  imagi- 
native power.  The  form  and  style  of  the  message  belong  in 
every  case  to  the  individuality  of  the  prophet,  and  are  moulded 
by  the  circumstances  of  his  education  and  his  times  ;  but  we 
cannot  doubt  that  the  prophecies  of  Zechariah  were  thrown 
into  the  form  which  made  them  most  efitective  for  the  end  in 
view,  and  though  they  are  marked  by  the  depression  of  his  age 
they  are  not  destitute  either  of  poetic  beauty  or  of  theological 
depth. 

They  open  with  an  exhortation  to  repentance  (i.  1-6),  which  is 
followed  by  the  seven  visions  (i.  7-vi.),  each  followed  by  special 
remarks  and  explanations.  Their  purpose  is  to  encourage  and 
exhort,  and  they  revert  frequently  to  the  topic  ot  the  punishment 

'  Some  refer  tlie  expression  "  tiiis  young  man"  in  Zech.  ii.  4  to  the 
prophet,  but  it  is  appliL-d  ajiparently  to  the  angel  with  the  measuring  line. 


198  THE   MINOR    PROPMKTS. 

of  the  heathen  and  the  future  exaltation  of  Jerusalem,  her  priest- 
hood, and  her  princely  line  (iii.,  iv. ),  after  she  has  been  purified 
from  her  sins  of  dishonesty  and  perjury  (v.).  'Ihe  second 
jnophecy  (vii.,  viii.)  bears  on  the  question  of  days  of  fasting, 
which  shall  be  turned  into  feasts  in  the  day  when  Jerusalem, 
restored  to  happiness  by  a  purer  morality,  shall  become  a  source 
of  blessing  to  all  the  world. 

The  remaining  chapters  (ix.-xiv.)  will  be  dealt  with  separately 
when  we  have  entered  into  the  reasons  which  convince  us  that 
they  are  written  by  ditTercnt  prophets  from  the  Zechariah  who 
wrote  the  first  eight. 

I.  First  address. — Ecpimt  (i.  1-6). 

This  prophecy,  like  those  which  follow  till  the  end  of  the 
sixth  chapter,  was  spoken  in  the  eighth  month,  Bui  (part  of 
November),  which  was  afterwards  called  Marchesvan.  It  comes 
Ijetween  the  second  and  third  addresses  of  Haggai.  The  style, 
like  that  of  Haggai,  is  marked  by  a  certain  heaviness  due  to 
constant  repetitions,  and  especially  by  the  frequency  of  the 
phrase,  "saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  The  Jews  are  not  at  once  urged 
to  work  at  the  building  of  the  Temple,  for,  as  Haggai  tells  us, 
that  task  was  already  in  hand  ;  but  they  are  bidden  to  "take  to 
heart  the  fate  of  their  fathers  to  whom  the  former  prophets  had 
spoken  in  vain,'  and  upon  whom  had  fallen  the  punishment  of 
exile.  Those  fathers  were  dead,  and  the  prophets  who  had 
spoken  to  them  ;  let  their  sons  learn  from  the  new  race  of 
prophets  without  the  same  lessons  of  bitter  experience. 

i.  First  vision  (i.  7-17). —  1  he  antrel  riders.  This  and  the 
following  visions  were  seen  on  the  night  which  began  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  the  eleventh  month,^  the  month  here  called  by  its 
Chaldean  name  of  Shebat  (February),  two  months  later  than 
the  last  prophecy  of  Haggai. 

The  prophet  sees  an  an.yel  mounted  on  a  red  horse,'  standing 
among  the  myrtle-trees  in  the  valley  under  the  Temple-hill.  He 
is  the  angel  of  the  Lord's  host,  the  angel  of  the  Presence,  and 

•  There  seems  to  be  special  reference  to  Hos.  xiv.  2.  3  ;  Ezek.  xxxiii.  11  ; 
2  Kings  xvii.  13.  '  Among  the  Hebrews  ihe  day  begins  at  sunset. 

s  Ewald  thinks  that  the  words  "  riding  upon  a  bright  red  horse"  should 
be  omitted  ;  and  that,  as  in  the  final  vision,  there  should  be  four  sets  of 
horses— red  for  the  east,  black  for  the  north,  grey  for  the  west,  and  spotted 
for  the  south.  But  all  attempts  to  j^ivc  a  m>stic  significance  to  the  mjrtles 
and  the  colour  of  the  horses  rest  on  very  unceiliini  data. 


ZECHARIAH.  199 

behind  him  ride  a  multitude  of  other  angels  on  red,  sorrel,  and 
white  horses.  Addressing  him,  the  prophet  says,  "  O,  my  Lord, 
what  are  these  ?"  The  prophet's  own  angel,  who  reveals  to  him 
subjectively  what  the  angel  of  Jehovah  objectively  sets  before 
him,  promises  to  him  the  explanation,"  and  it  is  given  by  the 
great  leader  of  the  host,  who  says  that  God  has  sent  these  riders 
to  and  fro  in  the  earth.  Then  they  reply  that  they  have  gone 
to  and  fro,  and  the  earth  sitteth  still,  and  is  at  rest  (7-11). 

Where,  then,  was  that  shaking  of  the  nations  which  God  had 
promised,  and  which  must  precede  the  enthronization  of  Jeru- 
salem as  the  city  of  God  ?  The  angel  of  Jehovah  cries  to  Him, 
"  How  long,  O  Lord  of  hosts,  wilt  Thou  not  have  mercy  on 
Jerusalem,  against  which  Thou  hast  had  indignation  these 
threescore  and  ten  years?'""  Jehovah  answered  the  angel  with 
good  and  comfortable  words  ;  and  the  angel  of  the  prophet 
bids  him  tell  his  people  that  God  is  sore  displeased  with  the 
heathen  because  they  have  overdone  the  infliction  of  His  wrath 
upon  Jerusalem,  and  the  city  shall  once  more  be  restored  to  a 
Divine  prosperity.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  symbol  of 
the  mounted  angels  was  suggested  to  (12-17)  Zechariah  by  the 
famous  courier-posts  of  Persia,^  but  they  seem  rather  to  be 
chariot-riders  though  their  time  for  battle  has  not  yet  come, 
and  the  colours  of  their  war  steeds  are  emblems  of  blood,  and 
fire,  and  triumph.  That  the  leader  of  the  host  is  mounted  on 
a  blood-red  horse  shows  that  the  day  of  the  wars  of  God  is 
near,  and  when  it  breaks  forth,  the  scornful  and  indolent 
heathen  shall  see  the  city  which  they  despise  exalted  to  be 
the  head  of  the  whole  earth. 

We  observe  at  once  that  we  have  now  reached  the  begin- 
ning of  that  apocalyptic  era  of  Jewish  literature  which  shortly 
afterwards  entirely  superseded  the  prophetic,  and  produced  a 
mass  of  writings  of  which  the  most  celebrated  are  the  apocry- 
phal books  of  Esdras  and  Enoch  ;  and  the  Revelation  of  St. 
John  has  also  been  largely  influenced  in  its  external  form  by  the 
visions  of  Zechariah. 

ii.  Second  vision. —  The  four  horns  and  the  four  smiths 
(i.  18-21).  The  prophet  sees  four  horns  (of  iron),  the  symbol  of 
heathen  power  and  oppression  which  have  scattered  Judah  and 

■  See  V.  Orelli,  p.  367.     LXX.  6  \aKS>v  Iv  iyLoi. 

'  SeeJer.  xxv.  11,  xxix.  10. 

3  Hdt.  iii.  126  ;  viii.  98.     Xen.  "  Cyrop."  viii.  6,  17, 


200  THE  MINOR   PROPilliTS. 

Jerusalem,'  and  four  smiths  who  are  to  harry  those  horns  and 
cast  them  out.  The  general  meaning  of  the  symbol  is  simply 
the  approaching  judgment  of  the  heathen.  The  number  four 
does  not  seem  to  point  to  any  four  special  heathen  nations,  such 
as  the  Assyrians,  I*"gyptians,  Babylonians,  and  Persians,  but  is 
the  number  of  completeness  ;  and  the  four  smiths  do  not  point 
to  four  separate  deliverers,  but  imply  that  the  defence  shall  be 
as  strong  as  the  assault  has  been. 

iii.  Third  vision. — The  Restoration  of  Jerusalem  (ii.  1-13). 
The  prophet  sees  an  angel  with  a  measuring-line  going  to 
measure  the  length  and  breadth  of  Jerusalem.  He  asks  where 
the  angel  is  going.  His  own  angel — the  ani^^elus  interpres — 
comes  forth  and  is  met  by  another  angel  who  bids  him  go  and 
tell  the  angel  with  the  measuring-line  that  he  is  mistaken  in 
his  attempt  to  measure  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  to  be  as  an  open 
country,  since  no  walls  could  contain  its  multitude  of  men '  and 
cattle,  and  for  safety  Jehovah  will  be  its  wall  of  fire.  The  judg- 
ment of  the  heathen  is  near  at  hand,  therefore  let  the  daughter 
of  Zion  flee  from  doomed  Chaldea,"*  for  Cod  will  scatter  her 
enemies,  and  she  shall  be  as  the  apple  of  His  eye.*  Let  her  sing 
and  rejoice,  for  the  Lord  will  dwell  in  the  midst  of  her,  and  many 
nations  shall  join  themselves  to  Him  and  become  His  people. 
"  Be  silent,  O  all  flesh  before  the  Lord,  for  He  is  raised  up  out 
of  His  holy  habitation  !  "  s 

We  see  here,  as  in  so  many  passages  of  the  Prophets,  that 
ihe  judgment  of  the  heathen  is  a  part  of  the  redemptio7i  of  the 
heathen,  and  that  their  destruction  is  an  element  of  their  future 
share  in  the  blessings  of  the  covenant. 

iv.  Fourth  vision.  —  The  7-estoraiion  of  the  priesthood ;  the 
prophecy  of  the  Branch  (iii.  i-io).  The  prophet  sees  a  vision 
of  the  judgment-seat.  Joshua  the  high  priest  stands  on  one 
side  before  the  Angel  of  the  Presence,  and  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  accused  stands  Satan  his  accuser.^    The  high  priest  is  clad 

■  Comp.  Dan.  vii.  20.  The  "  Israel  "  in  i.  19  should  perhaps  be  omitted 
as  in  the  LXX.  (comp.  Mai.  ii.  ii). 

*  See  Josephus,  "  Bell.  Jiid."  v.  4,  }  92. 

3  Babylon  was  twice  taken  in  the  reign  of  Darius.  "  Records  of  the 
Past  "  i.  118-125  (Behistun  mscription). 

■•  Lit.,  "  \.\\^ gate  of  His  eye,"  not  as  in  Deut.  xxxii.  10. 

S  Comp.  Jer.  xxv.  30  ;  Zcph.  i.  7  ;  Ilab.  ii.  20.  The  heathen  began  to 
know  more  nboiit  Judaism  after  the  C'aptivity. 

<*  I'ussibly    the    scene    w.is    idealized    from    the   fact   that   the    High 


ZECHARIAH.  20I 

in  the  dark  garments  of  woe,  as  the  representative  of  a  guihy  and 
neglectful  priesthood.  But  Jehovah  rebukes  the  Satan,  for  as 
He  has  chosen  Jerusalem,  so  has  He  chosen  the  priesthood, 
and  Joshua  is  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  burning.  And  by  His 
angel  He  bids  those  who  stand  before  Him  (apparently  the 
friends  of  Joshua,  who  are  subordinate  priests)  to  disrobe  the 
priest  from  his  weeds  of  woe,  and  clothe  him  in  festal  apparel,' 
and  He  says,  "  Behold,  I  have  caused  thine  iniquity  to  pass  away 
from  thee,  and  I  will  clothe  thee  with  festal  robes."  Then  the 
prophet  asks  that  a  fair  mitre  may  be  set  on  the  high  priest's 
head,  and  it  is  done,  and  he  is  promised  that  if  he  will  be  faith- 
ful his  place  shall  be  among  those  angels  that  stand  by,  and  with 
them  he  shall  have  free  access  to  the  throne  of  God.  And  he 
and  his  fellow-priests  are  to  be  "  men  of  portent,"  i.e.^  types  *  of 
Him  who  is  to  be  the  Branch,  namely  the  Promised  Messiah.' 
Before  the  eyes  of  Joshua  He  has  laid  a  stone — perhaps  the 
famous  rock  on  which  rested  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  or  that 
on  which  (according  to  the  Talmud)'*  the  high  priest  used  to 
place  the  censer  of  incense — and  this  stone  He  Himself  watches, 
so  that  (as  it  were)  the  seven  eyes  of  His  mercy  s  are  always 

Priest  may  have  been  persecuted  by  either  an  actual  or  threatened  accu- 
sation in  the  Persian  Court.  His  accusation  seems  to  have  no  connection 
with  his  allowing  his  sons  to  marry  heathen  wives  with  which  the  Rabbis 
connect  it.  He  stands  as  a  general  representative  of  the  sins  of  the  priest- 
hood (Ezek.  xxii.  26). 

'  Comp.  Isa.  Ixi.  10.  In  these  visions  Jehovah  and  the  angel  of  the 
Presence  are  used  almost  interchangeably,  and  the  words  spoken  are  at- 
tributed sometimes  to  one  sometimes  to  the  other — the  Angel  of  the  Pre- 
sence is  indeed  regarded  as  the  visible  manifestation  of  God. 

*  Comp.  Isa.  viii.  18. 

3  See  Jer.  xxiii.  5  ;  xxxiii.  15,  and  comp.  Isa.  iv.  2  ;  xi.  i  ;  liii.  2  ;  Zech, 
vi.  12.  It  is  a  little  surprising  that  the  Messiah  is  not  called  ''David's 
branch."  The  name  of  David  does  not  occur  in  Haggai  or  Zechariah. 
The  LXX.  renders  "Branch"  by  a%iaToki]v,  "day-spring"  (co:)ip.  Isa. 
iv.  2.  LXX.).  Isaiah  (xi.  i)usesthe  word  netser  notisemacA  for  "  Branch" 
or  "  Shoot."  4  Yoma  5,  2. 

S  Comp.  iv.  10  ;  Rev.  i.  4  ;  v.  6.  The  seven  Archangels — iWe  concepti  n 
of  which  was  perhaps  borrowed  from  the  seven  Persian  Amesha-Spentas— 
are  symbols  of  the  "seven  Spirits  of  God."    So  Milton  says : 

"  One  of  the  seven 
Who  in  God's  Presence,  nearest  to  His  throne 
Stand  ready  at  command,  and  are  His  eyes 
That  run  through  all  the  heavens,  or  down  to  the  earth 
Bear  His  swift  eiiands." 


202  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

fixed  upon  it.  God  will  write  the  inscription  upon  that  stone. 
In  one  day  the  iniquity  of  the  land  shall  be  removed,  and  the 
inhabitants  shall  live  together  in  joy  and  peace  and  mutual 
love. 

In  this  very  memorable  chapter  Joshua  is  not  considered 
individually  but  symbolically.  There  is  then  no  need  to  ask 
the  special  sins  of  which  he  had  been  guilty,  though  we  may 
infer  with  the  Targum  and  the  Rabbinic  writers  that  he  is 
punished  for  suffering  his  descendants  to  marry  heathen  wives, 
as  is  stated  in  Ezra  (x.  18),  and  Nehemiah  (xiii.  28).  But  the 
importance  of  Joshua  as  of  Zerubbabel  consisted  mainly  in  their 
representative  position.  For  he  is  a  partial  type  of  '*  the 
Branch,"  the  Messiah,  the  Eternal  Priest,  who  is  to  come,  and 
whose  coming  shall  imply  the  deliverance  from  sin  which  was 
but  dimly  foreshadowed  by  the  Levitic  sacrifices. 

V.  Fifth  vision.  —  The  golden  cattdelabrutn.  The  Temple 
filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God.  Royalty  and  Priesthood  the 
mediators  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  Church  (iv.  1-14).  The 
angel  interpreter  awakes  Zechariah  as  out  of  sleep,  and  he  sees 
a  golden  candelabrum,  like  that  which  had  existed  in  the  old 
Temple,  but  different  from  it,  and  greatly  superior.  For  on  the 
top  of  it  is  a  bowl,  and  it  has  seven  lamps,  and  seven  pipes  to 
the  lamp,'  and  on  each  side  of  this  bowl  an  olive  tree.''  Since 
he  cannot  explain  the  meaning  of  the  vision  the  angel  tells 
him  that  it  is  meant  to  teach  Zerubbabel  that  he  is  to  rely 
wholly  upon  God.  For  just  as  the  lamps  of  the  candela- 
brum, which  typify  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  His 
Temple,  are  not  supplied  by  human  hands,  but  come  direct 
from  the  olive  trees,  so  he  is  to  learn  the  lesson,  "not  by  might, 
nor  by  power,  but  by  My  spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  Why 
should  he  be  daunted  by  difficulties  .''  "  Who  art  thou,  O  great 
mountain  before  Zerubbabel  ?  Be  changed  into  a  plain  ! " 
He  has  laid  the  foundation  of  the  house,  and  He  shall  bring 
forth  its  coping-stone,  while  the  glad  multitude  shout  ''  Grace, 
grace  to  it!"'  Henceforth  who  will  despise  the  day  of  small 
things.'    The   seven  eyes  of  the  Lord  which  run  through  the 

Ewald  thinks  that  seven  eyes  were  actually  engraved  upon  the  stone  ;  but 
"  to  put  the  eyes  upon  "  is  a  metaphor  tor  to  watch  and  protect.  See 
Jer.  x.x.xix.  12  ;  xl.  4. 

•  Lit.,  "  Seven  pipes  apiece."  ■  Rev.  xi.  .\,  u\  Svo  iXalai. 

•  Ezra  iii.  lo  ;  vi.  15. 


ZECHARIAH.  203 

whole  earth  see  the  plummet  in  the  hand  of  Zerubbabel,  and 
they  rejoice. 

Desirous  to  understand  this  remarkable  vision  yet  more  fully, 
Zechariah  asks  the  meaning  of  the  two  olive-trees,  and  the  two 
olive-branches  which  at  the  side  of  the  two  golden  tubes  empty 
the  golden  oil  out  of  themselves  ?  He  is  told  that  they  are  the 
two  "  sons  of  oil,"  '  i.e.,  the  anointed  Prince  and  the  anointed 
Priest,  who  stand  by  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth. 

The  vision  is  full  of  meaning  and  comfort.  As  the  Temple 
had  lost  its  Ark,  and  yet  was  still  built  over  the  sacred  stone, 
engraved,  as  it  were,  by  God's  own  finger,  and  watched  by  His 
seven  eyes  (iv.  9),  even  so,  though  it  has  lost  the  seven-branched 
golden  candlestick,  there  should  be  another  mystic  one  in  its 
place,  supplied  by  and  symbolic  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  As  in  the 
last  vision  all  accusations  against  the  High  Priest  had  been 
silenced  by  the  word  of  God's  rebuke,  so  now  all  difficulties 
before  the  Prince  should  be  annihilated  by  the  utterance  of  His 
power.  Zerubbabel,  who  had  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Temple 
fifteen  years  before,  shall  live  to  hear  the  shouting  multitude 
rejoicing  as  he  sets  its  coping-stone.  For  the  seven  eyes  have 
looked  on  the  day  of  small  things,  and  shall  see  with  joy  the 
achievement  in  which  they  end.  Still  more  shall  they  see  the 
glorious  achievement  which  shall  come  not  from  Zerubbabel 
but  from  the  Branch  (iii.  8).  who  uniting  the  functions  of  the 
Anointed  ones  (Joshua  and  Zerubbabel)  shall  be  a  Priest  upon 
His  throne. 

vi.  Sixth  double  vision. —  The  flying  roll  iy.  x-i^.  The  guilt- 
laden  ephah  (5-1 1).     The  two-fold  ptirijication  of  the  land. 

Again  he  uplifts  his  eyes  and  sees  a  colossal  roll  of  a  book 
on  which  is  written  a  curse,  flying  over  the  whole  land.*  On  ofle 
side  of  it,  and  on  the  other  all  thieves  and  all  false  swearers  are 
cut  off.  For  it  enters  their  houses,  and  there,  like  a  consuming 
fire,  it  consumes  the  timber  and  the  stones  of  them  to  powder. 

Thus  the  land  is  purified  by  the  punishment  of  those  who 
are  guilty  of  the  kindred  sins  of  falsity  in  deed  and  falsity  in 
word.  But  that  it  may  be  more  completely  purged  the  sins 
themselves  no  less  than  the  sinners  have  to  be  removed.  Ac- 
cordingly the  prophet  next  sees  a  colossal  ephah  measure— a 

•  Comp.  Isa.  V.  i,  marg. 

»  Comp.  Ezek.  ii.  9,  10.  The  LXX.  follows  another  reading — Spiiravov, 
"sickle,"  which  gives  a  more  obvious  figure. 


204  THK    MINOR    PKOl'IIF.TS. 

cask  flying  abroad,  a  type  of  dishonest  mercliandise.'  "This," 
says  the  Angel,  "is  their  iniquity  through  all  the  land."' 
Then  he  saw  a  round  plate  of  lead  lifted  up,  and  a  woman  was 
sitting  upon  it.  This  woman,  said  the  angel,  is  wickedness. 
She  is  flung  inside  the  ephah  ;  its  mouth  is  closed  with  the 
plate  of  lead  ;  and  then  two  women  with  wings  like  storks,  and 
the  wind  in  their  wings,  carry  up  the  ephah  and  its  contents 
into  the  air,  and  Zechariah  is  told  by  the  angel  that  they  are 
carrying  it  away  to  Babylon — the  fit  dwelling-place  for  unhal- 
lowed merchandise,  from  which  the  Holy  Land  must  henceforth 
be  free.  In  this  double  vision — the  destruction  of  the  sinners,  the 
removal  of  the  sin — some  have  seen  a  faint  analogy  to  the  sym- 
bolism of  the  two  goats  on  the  Day  of  Atonement,  of  which  one 
was  slain  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  while  the  other 
carried  away  their  sins  for  Azazel  into  the  wilderness.  It  im- 
plies the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  in  iii.  9,  "  I  will  remove  the 
iniquity  of  the  land  in  one  day." 

Seventh  Vision. —  The  Four  Chariots  (vi.  1-8). 

The  avent^ing  might  of  God. — This  seventh  vision,  seen 
towards  the  morning,  has  some  resemblance  to  the  first,  seen  at 
the  beginning  of  the  night.  From  between  the  two  mountains— 
perhaps  the  Temple-mountain  and  the  Mount  of  Olives,  which 
shine  like  brass  as  the  ideal  resting-place  of  God's  strength — four 
chariots  come  bounding  forth.  The  first  is  yoked  with  red  horses, 
the  second  with  black,  the  third  with  white,  the  fourth  with 
horses  spotted  and  strong.  They  are  the  four  spirits  of  the 
heavens.  The  chariots  yoked  with  the  black  and  with  the 
white  horses  sweep  away  into  the  north  country,  in  token  that 
death  and  defeat  await  the  united  powers  of  Persia  and  Babylon. 
The  grisled  horses  rush  towards  the  south  to  keep  such  king- 
doms as  Edom  and  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  in  check.  The  red 
horses,  too,  sought  some  work  to  do,  but  they  are  bidden  at 
present  to  rush  to  and  fro,  waiting  any  mission  that  may  send 
them  to  the  east  or  to  the  west.  Meanwhile  the  black  horses 
have  finished  their  task,  and  have  appeased  God's  spirit  in  the 
north  country. 

'  Conip.  Amos  viii.  5  ;  Micah  vi.  10. 

»  "Their  iniquity  "  (A.V.  "resemblance").  1  adopt  this  reading  (QJIi;) 
of  the  Septuagint  and  Peshito  for  the  unintelligible  reading  "  their  eye' 
(D3>i;).  If  the  latter  be  the  right  reading  it  can  only  mean  "  that  to  which 
tliey  all  look." 


ZECHARIAH.  205 

In  reviewing  these  eight  visions  we  see  that  the  first — that  of 
the  horsemen  among  the  myrtles — is  meant  to  show  that  God's 
eye  is  upon  the  nations  in  spite  of  the  apparent  stillness  ;  the 
second,  of  the  four  horses  and  the  four  smiths,  to  show  that 
God  would  break  the  power  of  Israel's  oppressors  ;  the  third, 
of  the  angel  with  the  measuring  line,  to  prophesy  the  enlarge- 
ment and  security  of  Jerusalem  under  the  Branch  ;  the  fourth, 
to  indicate  the  purification  of  the  priesthood  ;  the  fifth,  to 
represent  the  priestly  and  civil  powers  as  channels  of  God's 
grace  ;  the  sixth,  to  shadow  forth  the  curse  of  sinners  and  the 
cleansing  of  the  land  from  sin  ;  the  seventh,  to  indicate  God's 
judgments  upon  the  nations. 

1.  The  crowning  of  the  high  priest  (vi.  9-15).  Here  end 
the  visions,  and  the  prophet  begins  another  cycle  of  preaching,' 
by  a  symbolic  act.  Certain  exiles  had  come  from  Babylon 
and  brought  with  them  gold  and  silver  as  gifts  to  the 
Temple.  The  prophet  is  to  take  this  gold  and  silver  to  make 
crowns  and  place  them  on  the  head  of  Joshua  the  high  priest,' 
and  so  visibly  to  present  him  as  a  type  of  The  Branch  who 
should  build  to  its  full  ideal  perfection  the  Temple  of  the  Lord, 
and  be  a  Priest  upon  His  throne.  The  crowns  were  to  be.  a 
memorial  for  the  exiles  in  the  Temple  ;  and  strangers  should 
come  and  build  in  the  Temple,  and  it  should  be  recognized  that 
Zechariah  was  a  true  prophet — if  they  diligently  obeyed  the 
voice  of  God. 

2.  The  question  about  fastittg  (vii.,  viii.).  After  the  last 
symbolic  act  there  was  a  pause  in  Zechariah's  prophetic 
activity  for  two  years.  But  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  nintli 
month  Kisleu,  in  the  fourth  year  of  Darius  (B.C.  518),  the  word 
of  the  Lord  again  came  to  him. 

The  occasion  was  remarkable.  The  people  of  Bethel  sent 
two  messengers — whose  Assyrian  names,  Sharezer'  and  Regem- 

'  Ewald,  followed  by  Hitzig  and  Wellhausen,  corrects  the  reading,  and 
adds,  "  on  the  head  of  Zerubbabel  and  on  tlie  head  of  Joshua."  There  is 
much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  the  correction,  but  Zerubbabel  had  no  royal 
rights  (Jer.  xxii.  30),  and  in  the  absence  of  textual  evidence  it  is  perhaps 
unsafe  to  adopt  it.  The  style,  however,  of  the  passage  seems  to  point  to 
some  corruption  of  the  text,  and  without  this  alteration  it  is  difficult  to 
explain  "and  there  shall  be  peace  between  thetn  bolk"  in  verse  13.  The 
Heldai  and  Josiah  of  verse  9  appear  as  Helem,  and  Hen  in  verse  14.  The 
Helem  appears  to  be  a  slight  clerical  error  ;  Hen  should  perhaps  be  ren- 
dered "kindness." 

'  It  is  the  name  of  a  son  of  Sennacherib  (Isa.  xxxvii.  38  ;  comp.  Jer. 


2o6  THK    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

Melccli  (Friend  of  the  Kinj,^,  show  traces  of  the  Exile— to  put 
to  the  priests  and  prophets  a  question  about  fasting.  Many 
of  the  returning  captives  had  settled  at  Bethel,'  and  they  de- 
sired, in  a  ceremonial  question,  the  advice  of  the  relis,'ious 
authorities  of  Jerusalem.  During  the  seventy  years'  capiivitv 
there  had  sprung  up  a  custom  of  fasting  on  the  tenth  day  of 
the  rilth  month  Ab,  on  which  the  city  and  Temple  had  been 
burnt  ;^  on  the  third  day  of  the  seventh  month,  in  memory  of 
the  murder  of  Gedaliah  ;  '  on  the  ninth  of  the  fourth  month,  in 
memory  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  ;•»  and  on  the  tenth  day 
at  the  tenth  month,  which  was  the  beginning  of  the  blockade.' 
These  fasts  had  continued  all  through  the  Captivity,  and  the 
people  of  Bethel  wished  to  know  whether,  now  that  the  building 
of  the  Temple  was  rapidly  approaching  its  completion,  they 
were  still  to  fast  on  these  days  .•' 

The  fasts  were  of  purely  human  ordinance,  the  memorials  of 
national  sorrow.  In  the  Mosaic  Law  there  was  but  one  day's 
fast  appointed  in  the  year— that  on  the  great  Day  of  Atonement ; 
nor  is  there  a  single  uninterpolated  word  in  Scripture  to  indicate 
the  false  and  superstitious  view  that  there  is  anything  in  fasting 
which  is  intrinsically  pleasing  to  God.  Zechariah  does  not 
fherefore  see  fit  to  give  any  direct  answer  to  their  question. 
Jle  has  no  word  of  God  for  them  about  these  fasts,  nor  were 
they  of  sufficient  importance  to  require  any  Divine  direction. 
It  was  a  question  purely  for  themselves.  God's  commiuids 
had  ever  been  few,  simple,  and  moral.  If  they  found  that  their 
fasts  did  them  any  good  let  them  fast  by  all  means  for  their 
own  sakes,''  but  not  with  the  silly  and  superstitious  notion  that 
tlieir  selfish  eating  or  not  eating  was  of  the  least  consequence 
as  any  element  in  true  religion  (vers.  5,  6).  In  adopting  this 
tone  Zechariah  follows  the  best  moral  teaching  alike  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament.  Again  and  again  in  both  we  are  taught 
that  God  does  not  require  stated  fasts,  but  does  always  require 
us  to  be  temperate  in  all  things  with  a  view  to  self-conquest, 
and  above  all  else  to  be  merciful,  loving^,  and  righteous."     The 

.xxxi.\.  3).    For  "  When  tliey  had  sent  untt-   he  house  of  God  "'  (A.  V.),  the 
true  rendering  is,  "  Now  they  of  Bethel  had  sent"  (K.  V.). 
»  Ezra  it.  28  ;  Neh.  vii.  32. 

*  Jer.  lii.  12.     In  2  Kings  xxv.  8,  the  seventli  day  is  mentioned.     loiter 
Jews  fasted  on  tJie  ninth.  3  2  Kings  xxv.  25. 

*  Jer.  xxxix.  2;  lii.  6.  S  2  Kings  xxv.  1. 

'  See  even  Jerome  on  Isa.  Iviii.  5.  7  Isa.  ii.  2,  Ixvi.  23;  Jer.  iii.  17. 


ZECHARIAH,  207 

lesson  which  runs  through  nearly  all  the  prophets  is  the  eternal 
nullity  of  the  ceremonial,    as  compared  with  the  moral,  law. 
Zechariah  tells  them  that  their  fasts  during  all  those  years  had 
been  as  purely  selfish  as  their  feasts.     Their  fathers  had  been 
bidden  to  be  compassionate  and  just,  but  they  had  made  their 
hearts  as  adamant,  and  would  not  hear,  and  so  had  drawn 
down  upon  them  the  wrath  of  God.     They  were  scattered  with 
a   whirlwind   among   the   nations,   and   their  land  was  made 
desolate  (vii.  4-14).     But   now  God's    anger  is   turned   away. 
Jerusalem  shall  be  called  a  city  of  truth,  and  the  mountain  of 
the  Lord  a  holy  mountain  ;  and  men  and  women  there  shall 
attain  to  great  age,  and  the  streets  shall  be  full  of  boys  and 
girls  at  play.     From  the  East  and  the  West  the  exiles  shall 
be  brought  back,  and  Jehovah  shall  be  their  God.     Therefore 
let  the  people  listen  to  the  prophets  whom  the  Lord  is  now 
sending  to  them.     For  until  the  foundation  of  the  Temple  was 
laid  there  was  nothing  but  poverty  and  affliction,  but  now  there 
is  a  return  of  plenty,  and  the  Jews  who  had  been  a  curse  among 
the  nations  should  now  become  a  blessing  ;  for  God's  purpose 
of  mercy  should  be  fulfilled  no  less  surely  than  had  been  His 
purpose  of  wrath  (viii.  1-15).'     Their  duty  therefore  was  plain. 
He  does  not  bid  them  fast  or  not  fast,  but  he  bids  them  to  be 
true  and  kind  and  faithful  in  their  dealings  with  one  another 
(vers.    16,   17).     And  if  they  would   obey  this  command  their 
fasts  should  become  joy  and  gladness  and  cheerful  feasts  ;  and 
many  n.itions  would  encourage  each  other  to  go  to  worship  in 
Jerusalem,  so  that  ten  men  of  all  nations  should  take  hold  of 
the  skirt  of  a  Jew  and  say,  "  We  will  go  with  you,  for  we  have 
heard  that  God  is  with  you  "  (vers.  18-23).     The  chapter  is  re- 
markable for  its  emphasis  of  repetition,  since  the  seven  separate 
sayings  at  the  beginning  (vers.  2-17)  and  the  three  concluding 
paragraphs  are  all  introduced  by  the  solemn  words,  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  of  Hosts." 

With  that  splendid  promise  the  authentic  treatise  of  Zecha- 
riah, the  grandson  of  Iddo,  appropriately  ends.  The  violent 
contrast,  the  violent  antipathy  between  the  house  of  Judah  and 
the  heathen  shall  cease,  and  the  eyes  of  the  repentant  nations 
shall  look  with  yearning  to  Jerusalem  as  the  centre  of  the 
religious  world. 

'  The  promise  of  viii.  4,  5,  might  almost  seem  to  be  expressly  alluded  to 
in  I  Mace.  xiv.  4-15. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

AN   ANONYMOUS   PROPHET. 

"  ZECHARIAH  "    IX. -XI. 

These  chapters  by  an  earlier  prophet — Decisive  proofs  of  this — Attempts 
to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  book— How  tlie  mistai<e  arose — i.  Tlie 
tiiiimiili  of  /.ion — i.  The  judgment  on  the  heatlien— ii.  The  holy  King 
of  Zion — iii.  Promises  of  delivorance — 2.  Divine  exaltation  of  Ephraim 
and  Judah — 3.  Apostasy  and  judgment — Remarkable  typology. 

These  three  chapters  are  probably  the  work'  of  some 
prophet  whose  name  is  no  longer  recoverable,  but  which 
have  been  appended  to  Zechariah  by  some  accident  or  con- 
fusion of  names.  They,  too,  may  have  been  by  some  one  who 
bore  the  common  natne  of  Zechariah,  but  their  whole  style  and 
purport  shows  that  they  could  not  have  been  written  by  the 
post-exile  prophet  whose  utterances  we  have  before  us  in  the 
previous  eight  chapters.  More  than  two  centuries  ago,  in- 
fluenced by  the  assignment  of  a  prophecy  in  these  chapters  to 
Jeremiah  in  Matt,  xxvii.  9,  Mede  (in  1638J  ascribed  them  to 
that  prophet,  and  was  followed  by  Hammond,  Kidder,  Whiston, 
and  others.  In  1784  a  Hamburg  minister,  named  Fliigge,  in 
an  anonymous  work,  proved  that  all  the  chapters  in  Zechariah 
after  the  eighth  belong  to  a  period  before  the  Exile.  In  1785 
liishop  Newton  stated  the  v  ew  which  now  prevails  among  the 
best  critics  that  chapters  ix-xi.  belong  to  an  epoch  previous  to 
the  fall  of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  and  xii.-xiv.  to  some  period 
after  Josiah  and  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Roughly 
speaking,  an  increasing  number  of  commentators  are  now  con- 
vinced that  ix.-xi.  belong  to  the  earlier  part  of  the  age  of 
Isaiah,  and  xii.-xiv.  to  the  age  of  Jeremiah. 

The  arguments  against  the  unity  of  the  entire  book  are  irre- 
sistible. The  style  of  the  earlier  and  later  portions  of  the  book 
is  so  entirely  different  that  even  a  casual  reader  of  the  English 
version  can  hardly  help  noticing  it  at  a  glance.     The  linguistic 


AN  ANONYMOUS  PROPHET.  209 

peculiarities  are  different  ;  the  recurrent  phrases  are  different ; 
the  historical  standpoint  throughout,  and  specially  as  regards 
the  Temple  and  its  ordinances,  is  different  ;  the  entire  tone  of 
the  prophecy  points  to  different  moral*  conditions.  The  first 
part  is  full  of  visions,  and  is  written  in  an  ordinary  and  prosnic 
style  ;  the  second  part  has  no  visions,  and  is  full  of  the  force 
and  fire  and  concise  tremendous  energy  of  older  prophecy. 
The  circle  of  thought  is  different.  In  the  second  part  there 
is  a  complete  absence  of  all  trace  of  the  angelology  and  other 
peculiarities  of  the  first  chapters.  Above  all,  the  political  and 
national  circumstances  dealt  with  have  no  relation  to  those 
which  existed  in  the  days  of  Zerubbabel.  In  these  chapters 
(ix.-xi.)  Joshua,  Zerubbabel,  and  their  priestly  and  political 
successors  have  disappeared  ;  the  death  of  Josiah  is  still  fresh 
in  the  memory  (xii.  ii),  and  the  earthquake  in  the  reign  of 
Uzziah  (xiv.  5),  and  perhaps  the  persecution  in  the  days  of 
Manasseh  (xii.  10) ;  there  is  no  allusion  to  the  enmity  of 
Babylon,  but  to  an  entirely  different  set  of  enemies — the 
Syrians,  Phoenicians,  and  Philistines ;  Assyria,  Egypt,  and 
Javan.  Tyre  and  Sidon  are  still  in  the  bloom  of  their  pros- 
perity ;  Gaza  has  still  a  king  of  her  own  ;  there  has  only  been 
a  partial  commencement  of  any  national  captivity  (x.  9)  ;  the 
Temple  of  Jerusalem  is  still  standing  (xi.  13)  ;  the  Northern 
Kingdom  not  only  still  exists  (xi.  14),  but  is  still,  to  a  certain 
extent,  powerful  (ix.  10,  13)  and  capable  of  increased  power 
(x.  6,  7).'  Lastly,  the  religious  needs  of  the  people  are  different, 
and  are  those  which  the  prophets  after  the  Exile  cease  to 
supply.  The  people  have  still  to  be  warned  against  idolatry 
(x.  2),  which  after  the  Exile  had  no  existence  among  the  Jews. 
Even  the  aspects  under  which  the  Messiah  is  presented  are  not 
identical.  In  iii.  S,  vi.  12,  He  is  "the  Branch"  ;  in  ix.  9,  10, 
the  lowly  conqueror  ;  in  xiv.  16,  Jehovah  Himself  is  the  King. 

Every  indication  of  these  chapters  points  to  the  fact  that 
they  must  have  been  written  by  some  younger  contemporary 

•  The  attempt  to  explain  away  the  force  of  the  allusions  to  "  Ephraim  " 
(ix,  13;  X.  7,  &c. ),  as  though  it  were  a.  ifcneral  expression  like  Israel,  are 
very  unsuccessful.  The  name  "Ephraim"  is  not  used  in  the  post-exilic 
prophets.  Even  Delitzsch  says  ("  Messianic  Prophecies,"  Eng.  tr.,  p.  99;, 
"  Either  everytliing  has  sprung  from  a  prre-exilic  situation,  or  we  are  sur- 
rounded with  apocalyptic  mysteries  in  emblematic  images  which  are  taken 
from  pra'-exilic  circumstances." 

15 


2IO  THE   MINOR    PROrHRTS. 

of  Hosea.  The  Northern  Kingdom  has  not  yet  sunk  to  ruin, 
though  imperilled  by  Assyrian  incursions,  and  the  population  is 
in  danger  of  being  deported  into  Assyria  and  Egypt  (x.  9,  xi.  i). 
The  days  alluded  to  are  those  of  Shallum,  Alenahem,  and 
Pekah,  and  the  anarchic  condition  which  followed  the  death 
of  Jeroboam  II.,  during  which  the  prophet  himself  seems  to 
have  assumed  the  political  direction  of  at  least  a  portion  of  the 
people,  and  to  have  endeavoured  to  unite  Judah  to  Ephraim 
(xi.  4,  14). 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  weaken  the  force  of  this  reasoning 
by  picking  out  a  phrase  lierc  and  there,  and  by  various  arguments 
which  too  often  look  like  special  pleading.  But  nothing  can 
alter  the  fact  that  if  the  three  sections  had  not  been  collected  into 
one  book  under  one  name — which  furnishes  no  real  evidence  as 
to  unity  of  authorship — no  one  could  have  dreamed  of  assigning 
them  to  the  same  person.  The  differences  are  fundamental, 
the  resemblances,  when  not  purely  semblable,  are  only  such  as 
belong  to  all  prophecy.  By  the  method  of  proving  identity  of 
authorship  on  the  authority  of  a  few  similar  phrases  "it  would 
be  easy  to  prove  that  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  had  but 
one  author."  But  although  the  writer  has  formed  his  own 
strong  opinion  he  must  not  conceal  that  the  question  appears 
to  present  greater  difficulty  to  other  minds,  and  that  Ue  Wette, 
in  the  fourth  edition  of  his  Introduction,  reverted  to  the  view 
that  the  book  was  all  written  by  a  single  author.  But  of  those 
who  still  maintain  this  view  some  have  to  resort  to  the  theory 
of  interpolation,  or  to  the  precarious  conjecture  that  in  the 
later  chapters  "the  author  tried  to  conceal  his  own  identity  by 
adopting  an  archaic  style,  and  making  free  use  of  more  ancient 
prophecies."' 

If  it  be  asked  how  the  mistake  arose  of  attaching  these 
chapters  to  the  Book  of  Zechariah,  the  answer  can  only  be 
conjectural.  There  is,  however,  no  improbability  in  the  con- 
jecture of  Strack,  that  the  names  of  the  writers  had  been  for- 
gotten, and  that  they  had  therefore  been  placed  as  anonymous 
writings  at  the  end  of  the  Book  of  Twelve  Prophets  before  the 
addition  of  Malachi  to  the  canon,  and  had  afterwards  been 
joined  to  Zechariah,  perhaps  because  of  one  or  two  resemblances 
in  expression,  such  as  those  in  ii.  10,  ix.  9  ;  or  possibly  because 

"  So  Delitzsch.  Cheyne  thinks  that  ix.-xiv.  are  from  the  same  hand,  but 
not  by  the  author  of  i.-viii. 


AN    ANONYMOUS    PROPHET. 


211 


chapters  ix.-xi.  may  have  been  written  by  the  Zechariah 
mentioned  in  Isa.  viii.  2. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  these  chapters  belong  to 
the  most  blooming  period  of  Hebrew  prophecy,  and  that  their 
contents  are  memorable  for  power  and  insight. 

I.  The  triumph  of  Zion  over  the  Powers  of  the 

World  (ix.). 

i.  The  judgment  upon  her  heathen  neighbours  (ix.  1-8). 
"The  oracle  of  the  Word  of  the  Lord  over  Hadrach,  and 
Damascus  is  its  resting-place-for  the  Lord  hath  an  eye  upon 
man  and  all  the  tribes  of  Israel— and  Hamath  also  which  bor- 
dereth  thereby,  Tyre  and  Sidon,  wise  though  she  be." '  So  the 
prophecy  begins.  About  Hadrach  nothing  is  known.  Some 
take  it  for  the  name  of  a  king  or  of  a  god,  but  it  is  probably  the 
district  Hatarika,  which  is  mentioned  with  Damascus  in  a  list 
of  Assyrian  conquests.^  The  "oracle"  at  once  takes  us  back 
to  the  days  of  Israel's  decadence,  when  Syria  and  Assyria  and 
Phoenicia  were  sources  of  peril.  After  a  threat  that  Tyre,  in 
spite  of  her  wisdom  and  wealth,  shall  be  devoured  with  fire  and 
smitten  into  the  sea,  there  follows  a  denunciation  of  the  Philis- 
tian  Pentapolis— especially  of  Ashkelon,  Gaza,  Ashdod,  and 
Ekron— whose  pride  shall  be  humiliated  into  complete  disgrace 
and  subjection,  so  that  the  king  of  Gaza  shall  be  dethroned, 
.and  the  half-breed  Sheykh  of  Ashdod  shall  only  count  as  a 
vassal  of  Judah,  and  Ekron  shall  be  no  higher  than  the 
Jebusites,3  whereas  God  will  be  a  rampart  around  His  own 
house  (ix.  1-8). 

ii.  The  holy  King  of  Zion  (ix.  9-1 1).  This  strophe  opens 
with  the  remarkable  passage,  quoted  by  St.  Matthew  and  St. 
John,  in  which  Zion  is  bidden  to  rejoice  because  her  King  is 

«  Comp.  Ezck.  xxviii.  4. 

»  For  "the  eye  of  man  (Adam)"  in  verse  i  some  read  "the  eye  of 
Aram  ;  "  but  perhaps  the  clause  should  be  rendered  "  the  Lord  hath  an  eye 

upon  men." 

3  Some  take  Jebusi  to  mean  Jerusalem,  and  read  "  he  (the  remnant  of 
the  Philistines)  shall  be.  as  Eleph  (for  aMph)  in  Judah ;  and  Ekron  as 
Jebusi,"  «.«.,  shall  become  part  of  the  Jewish  people,  though  in  an  mfenor 
capacity.  A  Benjamite  city  Eleph  is  mentioned  in  Josh,  xviii.  28,  just 
before  "Jebusi,  which  is  Jerusalem."  The  plea  that  these  words  are 
imitated  from  Zeph.  ii.  4-7.  and  therefore  that  they  are  by  a  post-exilic 
prophet,  cannot  be  maintained.  The  prophecies  differ  m  a  decisive  pomt. 
Comp.  Zeph.  ii.  7  (Ashkelun). 


212  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

corning  to  her,  just  and  victorious,  yet  lowly,  and  riding  upon 
an  ass.'  In  His  reign  the  chariot  shall  be  no  longer  needed 
in  Kphraim,  nor  the  war-horse  in  Jerusalem. 

Although  the  sphere  of  the  prophet's  work  is  mainly  in  the 
kinj^dom  of  Israel,  yet  his  sympathies  seem  to  be  centred  in 
Judah,  and,  like  Amos,  he  may  have  been  of  Judean  birth.  All 
his  hopes  are  fixed  on  the  royal  house  of  Jerusalem,  to  which 
he  looks  for  the  meek  and  glorious  Deliverer,  whom  he  foretells 
as  clearly  as  Isaiah  and  Micah,  and  in  less  general  terms  tlian 
Amos  and  Hosea.  His  rule  is  to  be  a  rule  of  peace  and 
blessedness,  not  of  battle  and  tumult  (ix.  lo),  though  it  shall 
extend  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  Euphrates  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  (Psa.  Ixxii.  8,  ii,  19);  and  in  faithfulness  to  His  old 
covenant  with  Israel  (Exod.  xxiv.  3  ff),  which  was  ratified  with 
blood,  God  would  deliver  from  the  waterless  cistern  of  captivity 
the  prisoners  who  had  been  taken  by  enemies  in  war.' 

iii.  Promises  of  deliverance  atid  glory  to  Israel  (ix.  12-17). 
In  this  splendid  strophe  Jehovah  promises  to  go  forth,  leading 
His  people  to  the  victory  of  peace  and  blessing.  They  shall 
subdue  their  enemies,  trampling  upon  the  sling-stones  hurled 
against  them,^  and  they  shall  be  as  a  crown  of  jewels  glittering 
over  this  land.  Javan  is  mentioned  (ver.  13)  as  the  chief  foe 
over  whom  they  shall  triumph,  and  seems  to  mean  no  more 
than  the  western  regions  to  which  the  farthest  prisoners  of  wjr 
had  been  sold.''  To  bring  down  the  date  of  the  poem  to  the 
third  century  before  Christ  (the  Grecian  epoch)  in  virtue  of  this 
single  expression  is  altogether  extravagant. 

2.  The  Divine  exaltation  of  Ephraim  and  Judah  (x.). 

The  tenor  of  this  entire  strophe  is  glad  and  hopeful,  yet  it  is 
mingled  with  memories  of  judgment,  in  consequence  of  the 
idolatry  and  divinations  of  past  days^  (vers.  1-3).  It  contains 
the  promise  to  Judah  :  "  Out  of  him  shall  come  the  coi  ner- 
stone  ;  out  of  him  the  staple  ;  out  of  him  the  battle-bow;  out 
oi  him  every  governor  together."  *  Yet  the  prophet  foresees  an 
estcnsion  of  captivity  as  a  necessary  discipline  of  faithfulness  to 
CJod  (ver.  9).  The  Jews  shall  be  restored  to  their  own  land  before 
the  final  judgment  upon  Egypt  and  Assyria  (vers.  11,  12). 

'  See  Ufatt.  xxi.  5 ;  comp.  xii.  15-20.  '  Obad.  20. 

s  Ver.  15.  Compare  Job  xli.  28,  "  sling-stoncs  arc  turned  with  liim  iiUa 
.stubble."  *  Comp.  Joel  iii.  6  ;  Isa.  Ixvi.  19. 

5  In  X.  2  for  "  idols  "  read  "  teraphim."  '  Comp.  Jer.  xxx.  21. 


AN  ANONYMOUS  PROPHET.  213 

3.  Apostasy  and  judgment  (xi.). 

In  the  first  strophe  (ix.)  the  prophet  has  gazed  from  the 
heights  upon  the  days  of  far  future  glory  :  in  the  second  (x.)  he 
has  revealed  his  consciousness  that  days  of  trouble  must  pre- 
cede the  days  of  deliverance  ;  in  the  third  strophe  (xi.)  he  has 
only  the  present  before  him,  in  all  its  abjectness  and  ingratitude. 

The  chapter  is  marked  by  singular  energy,  but  we  cannot  tell 
with  certainty  whether  the  events  on  which  it  touches  are  all 
directly  historical,  or  whether  they  are  thrown  into  an  ideal 
form.  Some  terrible  invasion  from  the  north  is  imminent.  The 
prophet  calls  on  Lebanon  and  its  cedars,  and  on  the  oaks  of 
Bashan  to  cry  aloud,  for  fire  and  ruin  are  at  hand.  There  is  a 
wail  of  shepherds  from  devastated  fields,  a  howling  of  young 
lions  from  the  wasted  thickets  of  Jordan  (vers.  1-3).^ 

Amid  the  misery  and  desolation,  Jehovah  bids  the  prophet 
himself  to  assume  the  duties  of  a  shepherd  over  this  flock 
doomed  to  slaughter,  whose  shepherds  have  shown  themselves 
careless  and  greedy.  Therefore  these  dwellers  in  the  land— 
these  lordly  and  cruel  owners  of  the  flock— shall  be  handed  over 
to  the  oppression  of  their  king  and  mutual  destruction.'^  But 
the  prophet  feeds  the  poor,  miserable  flock,  and,  to  indicate 
his  twofold  purpose  towards  them,  he  makes  two  staves.  To 
one  he  gives  the  name  of  "  Graciousness,"  to  imply  a  covenant 
of  peace  between  the  sheep  and  the  surrounding  nations  ;  and 
the  other  he  calls  "  Union,"  ^  because  he  desires  to  re-unite  the 
two  kingdoms  of  Judah  and  Israel  into  brotherhood," 

But  the  period  of  his  guidance  of  the  flock  was  brief  and 
stormy.  Three  other  shepherds — three  kings  who  claimed  the 
rule  of  the  flock — rose,  and  were  swept  away  in  a  month  ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  his  flock  grew  weary  of  his  rule.  Then,  in 
indignation,  he  threw  up  his  office.  Let  the  sheep  die  ;  let  them 
be  cut  off;  let  them  devour  one  another  !  ^  In  sign  that  he  was 
their  shepherd  no  longer,  he   practically  abandons   them   to 

'  There  is  no  obvious  explanation  of  this  terrible  invasion  from  the  north 
if  it  does  not  refer  to  the  Assyrian  invasion  (2  Kings  xv.  29  ;  i  Chron. 
V.  26).  But  if  so,  these  chapters  could  not  have  been  written  by  a  post- 
exilic  prophet. 

^  The  necessity  of  providing  tribute-inoney  for  Assyria,  or  means  to 
defend  the  Northern  Kingdom  against  her,  must  have  crushed  the  Ephrai- 
mites  to  the  end.     See  2  Kings  xv.  20.  3  Lit.,  "  Binders,"  marg. 

*  Conip.  Ezek.xxxiv.,  xxxvii.  16-22,  which  seem  to  contain  reminiscences 
of  this  chapter.  5  Comp.  Jer.  xv.  i,  2  ;  Isa.  ix.  20. 


214  THE   MINOR    PROPHEITS. 

their  heathen  enemies  by  breaking  the  staff  "  Graciousness  "  ; 
and,  in  the  results  which  followed — perhaps  in  the  subsequent 
invasion  of  the  Assyrian  King  Pul  or  Tiglath-Pileser  (2  Kings 
XV.  19) — those  who  attended  to  his  words  recognized  that  they 
were  the  word  of  the  Lord. 

But  since  he  thought  it  well  to  require  from  the  people  some 
overt  acknowledgment  of  the  position  which  he  had  occupied 
towards  them,  he  offered  them  their  choice  of  paying  him  or 
refusing  to  pay  him,  as  they  thought  best,  the  reward  of  his 
labour.  They  scornfully  paid  him  the  sum  of  thirty  pieces  of 
silver,  the  price  of  a  slave  (Exod.  xxi.  32).  It  was  an  act  of 
infinite  contumely  ;  and,  by  the  direction  of  Jehovah,  he,  with 
no  less  scorn,  cast  it  to  the  potter — if  that  be  the  right  reading 
— but,  perhaps,  to  the  treasurer  or  the  Temple  treasury,'  if  we 
follow  the  slight  alteration  adopted  by  the  Targum  and  by  some 
editors-  as  a  witness  of  their  insolent  rejection  of  him,  a  pro- 
phet nf  the  Lord.  The  deeply  typical  character  of  the  whole 
narrative  is  brought  out  in  the  reference  of  St.  Matthew  (xxvii. 
10),  as  finding  its  supreme  fulfilment  in  the  conduct  of  the 
traitor  Judas  towards  his  Lord. 

Then,  since  all  brotherhood  between  Judah  and  Israel  had 
become  hopeless,  he  broke  his  other  staff,  "  Union."  He  is 
next  bidden  to  take  the  instruments  of  a  foolish  (or  wicked) 
shepherd — a  staff  perhaps- -which  is  assumed  in  mockery  only. 
For  Jehovah  intends  to  raise  up  over  the  rebellious  and  aban- 
doned flock  a  shepherd  ot  the  worst  type — indolent,  indifferent, 
greedy,  cruel.  Woe  to  him  !  May  the  sword  of  the  foe  smite 
his  right  arm,  and  pierce  his  right  eye  !  * 

Such  is  the  remarkable  chapter  in  which  all  the  immediate 
hopes  of  the  prophet  seem  to  be  swallowed  up  in  turmoil  and 
darkness,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  does  not  even  recur  to  the 
glorious  promises  which  he  has  just  held  forth.  The  his- 
torical circumstances  to  which  he  alludes  are  only  partially 
known  to  us.  Was  it  really  the  case  that,  amid  the  anarchy 
which  followed  the  death  of  Jeroboam  II.,  some  leading  pro- 
phet assumed  the  headship  of  the  mass  of  the  people  ?  If  so,  it 
is  strange  that  no  trace  of  his  action  should  have  been  left  even 

'  Mai.  iii.  10. 

*  Ewald  has  suggested  with  some  probability  that  the  passage  now  found 
in  xiii.  7-9  (where  it  seems  out  of  place),  beginning,  ".Awake,  O  sword, 
,  linst  my  shepherd,"  belongs  to  the  end  of  tliis  cliapter. 


AN   ANONYMOUS   PROPHET.  21 5 

in  the  meagre  annals  of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  and  that  no 
allusion  to  his  patriotic  efforts  to  unite  the  two  branches  of  the 
House  of  Israel  should  be  preserved  in  the  fuller  records  of  the 
kingdom  of  Judah.  If  two  of  the  false  shepherds  who  were 
cut  off  in  the  course  of  one  month  were  Zechariah  the  son  of 
Jeroboaim,  and  Shallum ', — who  was  the  third?  It  cannot  be 
Menahem,  for  he  reigned  ten  years.  Is  it,  then,  some  unnamed 
preten  ':er?  And  was  the  contumelious  payment  for  the 
prophet's  services  a  real  or  an  imaginary  act  ?  We  cannot 
answer  these  questions  with  certainty,  nor  can  we  be  sure 
whether  the  worthless  shepherd  of  the  closing  words  was 
Menahem  or  Pekah.  Hiizig  renders  it,  "  I  removed  the  three 
shepherds  which  were  in  one  month,"  which  is  a  possible 
construction.  The  reference  would  then  be  to  Zechariah,  Shal- 
lum,  and  Menahem.  Any  historical  uncertainty  of  this  kind  is 
nothing  to  the  extravagant  suppositions  that  these  chapters  are 
by  the  author  of  the  first  eight.  They  resort  to  such  expedients 
as  making  "one  month  "  mean  thirty  years,  or  two  hundred  and 
thirty  years,  and  so  they  reduce  the  whole  exegesis  to  arbitrary 
chaos. 

Nevertheless,  the  difficulty  of  interpreting  the  details  does 
not  detract  from  our  sense  of  the  extraordinary  energy  and 
force  of  the  prophetic  narrative,  which  acquires  yet  deeper 
interest  from  the  quotation  of  it  in  Matt,  xxvii.  9.  The  character 
of  the  reference  is  not  materially  altered  whether  we  adopt  the 
reading,  "  to  the  potter"  (LXX.  ug  to  x^-'t'^i^Tiip'ov)  as  though 
the  money  were  to  be  turned  to  the  ignoble  purpose  of  making 
common  earthen  vessels,  or  (as  in  the  Syriac),  "to  the  temple 
treasury  "  (t-o  ya'Co(f>i'\aKtov,  Mark  xii.  41).  The  point  of  the 
adaptation  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  glorious  prophet  whom  God 
had  raised  up  to  reunite  the  severed  House  of  Jacob,  and  to 
save  it  from  surrounding  heathen  powers,  was  so  completely 
rejected  and  despised  that  his  work  was  regarded  as  worth  no 
more  than  the  lowest  price  of  a  slave  ;  and  that  this  vile  sum 
was  flung  by  him  into  the  Temple.  This  unknown  prophet 
thus  became  a  type  of  fhat  Good  Shepherd  whom  God  had 
sent  to  His  people,  but  whose  brief  and  rejected  ministry  was 
followed  by  betrayal,  and  who  was  also  sold  for  thirty  pieces  of 
silver. 

'  2  Kings  XV.  8-13. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

••  ZECHARIAH  "  XII-XIV. 

A  third  prophet — Peculiarities  of  his  prophecy — Political  circumstances  ol 
the  time— The  attitude  of  Judah  to  Jerusalem  -I.  The  great  deliveranca 
— i.  God's  judgments  on  the  heathen— ii.  The  rejientance  of  ]eru« 
salem  -iii.  The  purification  from  guilt— II.  Judgment  and  final  glory— 
i.  The  day  of  the  I>ord— ii.  Partial  deliverance — iii.  Judgment  on 
enemies^v.  The  Messianic  kingdom. 

Internal  evidence  makes  it  almost  certain  that  we  are  here 
face  to  face  with  yet  anollier  prophet,  and  one  who  lived  neither 
like  the  contemporary  of  Haggai  in  the  period  after  the  Exile, 
nor  yet,  like  the  author  of  the  last  three  chapters,  in  the  anarchic 
close  of  the  history  of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  but  a  little  after 
Habakkuk,  and  shortly  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
by  Nebuchadnezzar.'  According  to  our  present  text  he  calls 
his  prophecy  "The  oracle  of  the  word  of  the  Lord  con- 
cerning Israel  "  ;  but  since  he  is  solely  occupied  with  Judah 
and  Jerusalem  it  is  clear  that  Israel  is  here  only  a  general  name 
for  the  Southern  Kingdom.  It  is  indeed  probable  that  the  true 
reading  is  not  "  Israel  "  but  "Jerusalem,"  by  the  same  clerical 
error  which  we  also  perhaps  fuid  in  Jer.  xxiii.  6  (where  the 
parallel  passage,  Jer.  xxiii.  16,  seems  to  show  that  "Jerusalem" 
is  the  true  reading)  and  in  Zeph.  iii.  14,  where  as  here  we  find 
Jerusalem  in  the  Septuagint. 

The  prophet  writes  under  the  pressure  of  some  impending 
calamity.  He  anticipates  with  certainty  that  Jerusalem  will  not 
only  be  besieged  but  will  endure  all  the  horrors  of  sack  and 
shame  (xiv.  2).  Mis  attitude  under  these  depressing  circum- 
stances is  that  of  an  undaunted  patriot.  In  his  earlier  strophes 
he  hurls  defiance  at  the  foes  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  and  even 
when  he  can  neither  resist  nor  conceal  the  conviction  that 
Jerusalem   must  fall   he  does   not    preach  quietness  and  sub- 

'  See,  however,  Ewald,  "  History  of  Israel,"  iv.  271. 


ZECHARIAH.  217 

mission  as  Jeremiah  did  within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  but 
prophesies,  at  least  for  the  residue-at  least  for  one-third-of 
the  people  (xiii.  8,  xiv.  2)  a  dehverance  and  a  blessed  restoration, 
though  not  until  they  also  have  passed  through  the  refinmg  fire 
of  terrible  calamity  (xiii.  9).  Possibly  the  deeper  dejection  and 
less  hopeful  attitude  of  Jeremiah  may  have  been  due  to  his 
more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  guilt  and  resourcelessness  of 
the  capital  ;  whereas  this  prophet,  who  apparently  lived  outside 
the  walls,  is  greatly  occupied  with  the  people  of  Judah,  and  was 
able  to  fix  his  attention  more  exclusively  on  the  ultimate 
destruction  of  the  foes  of  the  Holy  People  which  Isaiah  and 
elder  prophets  had  proclaimed.  He  cannot,  indeed,  and  does 
not  anticipate  so  superb  an  interposition  of  Jehovah's  mercy  as 
that  which  had  delivered  the  Holy  City  from  the  Assyrians 
in  the  days  of  Hezekiah.  He  sees  plainly  that  Jerusalem  cannot 
keep  back  the  Babylonians  from  entering  her  walls,  and  sub- 
jecting her  to  the  worst  evils  of  humiliation  and  rapine  ;  but 
he  believes  in  a  mighty  and  marvellous  manifestation  of  God's 
power  which  shall  inaugurate  the  days  of  Messianic  blessing. 

Ewald,  followed  by  some  more  recent  critics,  thinks  that 
the  immediate  event  which  kindled  the  prophetic  activity  of 
this  unknown  writer  was  the  terrible  danger  lest  the  people 
of  Judah,— chiefly  under  compulsion  from  the  Chaldeans,  but 
perhaps  not  wholly  uninfluenced  by  that  bitter  jealousy  against 
the  capital  city  of  which  there  is  a  possible  trace  in  xii.  7— 
should  fight  against  Jerusalem,  and  help  to  destroy  it.  This 
opinion  is  founded  on  xii.  2,  which  is  so  rendered  in  the 
Targum  and  the  Vulgate  as  to  mean  that  "  Judah  also  shall  be 
at  the  besieging  of  Jerusalem."  This  view  is  supported  by  xiv.  14, 
if  that  be  rendered  (as  in  the  R.V.  and  margin  of  our  A.V.),  "And 
Judah  also  shall  fight  against  Jerusalem."  We  read  in  2  Kings 
xxiv.  2,  that  in  the  closing  days  of  the  kingdom,  in  the  reign  of 
Jehoiakim,  God  sent  against  him  "bands  of  the  Chaldees,  and 
bands  of  the  Syrians,  and  bands  of  the  Moabites,  and  bands  of 
the  children  of  Ammon,  and  sent  them  against  Judah  to  destroy 
it."  If  these  passages  of  the  anonymous  prophet  are  rightly 
understood  by  the  Targum  we  are  driven  to  the  sad  conclusion 
that  the  Judeans  of  the  country  took  part  in  the  destruction 
of  their  own  capital  and  Temple.  If  so,  the  mere  possibility  of 
such  a  catastrophe  might  well  make  the  heart  of  a  Judean 
proDhet  burn  within  him  ;    but  unfortunately  the    meaning  of 


2l8  THE    MINOR    F'Rol'HETS. 

the  passage  is  not  clear.  In  xii.  2,  the  meaning  may  only 
be  ''  I  will  make  Jerusalem  a  cup  of  staggering  unto  all  peoples, 
and  upon  Judah  also  shall  it  be  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem," 
i.e.,  the  anguish  and  bewilderment  shall  fall  upon  Judah  also  in 
that  revival  of  deadly  animosities  of  nation  agamst  nation 
during  the  siege.  Similarly  xiv.  14  may  only  imply  that  "  Judah 
also  shall  fight  at  Jerusalem, '  while  the  remainder  of  the  verse 
would  then  imply  that  Judah  would  share  with  Jerusalem 
the  rich  spoil  abandoned  by  the  panic  of  the  discomfued 
nations.  The  literal  rendering  and  some  of  the  allusions  seem, 
however,  to  point  to  the  view  that  Judah,  whether  willingly 
or  compulsorily,  did  contribute  soldiers  for  the  besieging  of 
Jerusalem. 

The  general  subject  of  these  three  chapters  of  prophecy 
is  the  future  deliverance  and  blessing  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem. 
The  third  chapter  (xiv.)  seems  to  have  been  written  at  a  later 
time  when  affairs  "had  grown  more  desperate,  and  only  the 
darkest  anticipations  are  possible  for  the  immediate  future, 
though  a  Divine  hope  could  still  look  through  the  intervening 
darkness  to  the  great  light  beyond. 

I.  The  great  deliverance  and  the  better  age  (xii. 
i-xiii.  9). 

i.  God's  judgments  on  the  heathen  (xii.  1-9).  After  speaking  of 
God  as  the  Almighty  Creator  of  the  world  and  of  man  (i),  the 
prophet  compares  Jerusalem  to  a  goblet  of  wine  which  the 
nations  eagerly  seize,  but  which  becomes  to  them  a  cup  that 
makes  them  stagger  like  drunken  men,'  and  from  which  Judah 
also  must  suffer  (2).  He  compares  her  also  to  a  lilting-stone, 
used  in  games  of  strength,  at  which  the  nations  try  their  hands 
but  only  wound  themselves  in  vain,  and  do  not  succeed  in 
hurling  it  away  (3).  In  that  day  will  Jeliovah  smite  the  heathen 
powers— the  horses  and  their  riders — with  stupefaction,  con- 
fusion, and  blindness  ;  and  the  chiefs  of  Judah  shall  have  their 
eyes  opened  so  that  instead  of  being  jealous  of  Jerusalem  they 
shall  recognize  in  her  their  chief  source  of  strength  through  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  their  God  (5,  6). 

Kindled   into   enthusiastic    courage   by  this  conviction  they 

sliall  become  like  a  brazier  of  fire  amid  the  wood,  like  a  torch 

of  fire  among  the  sheaves,  to  consume  the  surrounding  peoples 

(6),  so    that  Judah    shall  first  be  saved— in    order  to  prevent 

■  CoiiiDare  Psa.  xi.  6,  Ilab.  ii.  15,  16. 


ZECHARIAH.  219 

the  people  of  Jerusalem  from  glorifying  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  their  country  neighbours  ;  and  then  the  dwellers 
in  the  Holy  City,  so  that  even  their  feeble  ones  should  be 
strong  as  David,'  while  the  sons  of  David's  own  royal  house 
shall  be  as  the  Angel  of  Jehovah  (7,  8).* 

ii.  The  repentance  of  Jerusalem  (xii.  9-14)-  But  before  that 
day  of  the  destruction  of  the  foes  of  Jerusalem,  Jehovah  will 
pour  upon  David's  house  and  upon  Jerusalem  the  spirit  of 
grace  and  prayer  to  enable  them  to  repent  of  a  great  crime. 
They  have  murdered  some  martyr-prophet  of  the  Lord,  and 
touched  by  Divine  grace  they  shall  look  on  him  tvhom  they 
piercedJ  If  the  reading  "/«^"  be  adopted  the  sense  of 
"  whom  they  have  pierced''  cannot  be  weakened,  as  is  done 
by  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  and  Calvin,  to  mean  '•  whom  they 
have  vexed;'  but  must  be  taken  to  imply  the  truth  that  God  is 
wounded  in  the  person  of  His  servants.  But  now  the  people  of 
Jerusalem  shall  repent  for  this  their  crime  in  a  mourning  as 
bitter  as  that  with  which  they  all  bewailed  the  death  of  Josiah 
at  Hadad-rimmon  in  the  valley  of  Megiddo  (B.C.  609).^  Each 
family  should  bewail  it  separately— the  House  of  David  and  the 
branch  of  Nathan,  s  the  families   of  Levi  and  of  Shimei  °  (xii. 

10-14). 

Who  was  this  martyr  whose  murder  has  been  so  great  a 
crime,  whose  memory  should  awaken  so  bitter  and  universal  a 
repentance  ?  We  are  naturally  tempted  to  suppose  that  it  is 
the  suffering  servant  of  Jehovah  so  pathetically  depicted  in 
Isaiah  liii.  It  was  clearly  some  great  shepherd  of  the  people, 
who  was  near  and  dear  to  God  (xiii.  7),  in  whose  death  the 
House  of  David,  as  well  as  the  people  of  the  city,  had  taken  a 

'  Psa.  xviii.  32  ;  ciii.  20.  *  Exod.  xxxiii.  2  ;    Isa.  Ixiii.  9). 

3  Another  reading  followed  by  the  A.  V.  and  the  R.  V.  is  "they 
shall  look  on  me  whom  they  pierced";  but  many  MSS.,  by  a  very 
slight  change,  read  '•him."  There  is  an  obvious  propriety  in  this  read- 
ing ;  for  it  would  be  little  in  accordance  with  the  awful  reverence  which 
pervades  the  Old  Testament  to  represent  the  nation  as  bitterly  lamenting 
over  Jehovah  (who  is  here  the  speaker)  as  having  been  murdered  by  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Septuagint,  Vulgate,  Peshito,  and  the  Targum  all 
read  "  me."  though  from  Jolm  xix.  37.  Rev.  i.  7,  we  might  infer  that 
"  him  "  was  the  common  reading  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era. 

♦  2  Chron.  xxxv.  20-27  ;  2  Kings  xxiii.  29,  30.  In  Jerome's  time  it  was 
called  Maximianopolis.  s  2  Sam.  v.  14 ;  Luke  iii.  31. 

*  Shimei,  son  of  Levi,  Num.  iii.  17  ;  not  the  Benjamite  of  2  Sam.  xvi.  5. 


220  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

shameful  part  (xii.  10-12  ;  xiii.  i).  Was  it  Isaiah  himself  slain 
by  Manasseh,  as  tradition  tells  us  ?  Was  it  the  Prophet  Urijah 
murdered  by  Jehoiakim  and  his  people?  (Jer.  xxvi.  20-23.)  Or 
was  it  some  other  prophet,  like  Jeremiah,  who  suffered  so  many 
years  of  cruel  persecution,  which  pointed  to  his  future  martyr- 
dom .'  We  cannot  tell,  but  whoever  he  was,  his  murder,  and 
the  subsequent  agony  of  repentance  which  that  murder  awoke 
among  those  who  pierced  him,  was  a  striking  type  and  fore- 
shadowing of  the  death  of  the  King  of  Martyrs,  the  Son  ot 
God,  and  of  the  remorse  which  pierced  to  the  heart  those  who 
had  slain  Him  (Acts  ii.  37  ;  vii.  54). 

iii.  The  purification  from  guilt  and  falsity  (xiii.  1-9).  But 
repentance  ensures  forgiveness.  For  the  penitent  members  of 
the  royal  house  and  the  guilty  city  a  fountain  shall  be  opened 
for  sin  and  uncleanness,  which  shall  wash  away  these  stains 
of  innocent  blood  (xiii,  i);  and  the  result  of  this  purification 
shall  be  the  uprooting  of  idolatry  and  false  prophecy.  Hitherto 
the  false  prophets,  in  the  hairy  mantles  which  they  wore  after 
the  fashion  of  Elijah,  in  order  to  deceive,  have  been  honoured 
and  rewarded  ;  now  their  trade  shall  become  so  much  execrated 
that  parents  themselves  shall  slay  any  son  who  attempts  to  take 
it  up  (3),  and  those  who  have  once  practised  it  shall  be  most  eager 
to  disclaim  it.  If  in  former  days  they  have  gashed  themselves 
on  the  breast '  in  sign  of  sacred  frenzy,  like  other  false  prophetSi 
they  shall  now  be  anxious  to  explain  the  wounds  away  (5,  6). 
Meanwhile,  however,  some  martyr-king  or  martyr-prophet — 
the  shepherd  of  his  people — must  be  slain,  and  the  sheep  be 
scattered  (7),  but  a  third  part  shall  be  saved  as  by  fire,  and  be 
the  people  of  Jehovah  (7-9).  The  words,  "  I  will  smite  the 
shepherd  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered  "  (verse  7),  like  so 
many  in  this  book,  are  applied  to  Christ  by  the  Evangelists.* 
Unhappily  we  cannot  explain  with  certainty  the  primary  and 
contemporary  allusion.  It  must  also  be  admitted  that  the 
strophe  of  verses  7-9  comes  in  rather  abruptly  and  awkwardly. 
The  difficulty  of  explaining  the  connection  has  led  some  to 
suppose  again  that  this  is  a  brief  prophetic  fragment  preserved 
from  older  times  by  its  own  force  and  beauty.  This  is  the  view 
of  Ewald,  but  it  is  not  supported  by  decisive  evidence. 

2.  Judgment  and  final  Messianic  glory  (xiv.). 

•  xiii.  6.  Not  "in  thine  bands,"  but  "between  thy  hands."  Compare 
2  Kings  ix.  24.  '  Matt.  xxvi.  31 ;  Mark  xiv.  27. 


ZECHARIAH.  221 

The  second  part  of  this  prophecy  occupies  the  fourteenth 
chapter,  and  consists  of  four  strophes.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
prophecy  (xii.  1-9)  it  might  have  seemed  as  if  an  inviolable 
security  were  promised  to  Jerusalem  in  spite  of  the  threatening 
movements  of  nations  flocking  to  her  destruction.  Such  a  hope 
is  no  longer  possible.  Jerusalem  cannot  now  be  delivered  from 
Nebuchadnezzar,. as  she  had  been  delivered  from  Sennacherib. 
Yet  the  deliverance  shall  come,  and  shall  bg  mighty,  though  it 
shall  only  save  the  residue  of  the  people. 

i.  The  day  of  the  Lord  (xiv.  1-3).  Jerusalem  must  fall,  and 
be  spoiled,  and  half  of  her  inhabitants  must  go  into  captivity, 
but  Jehovah  shall  save  the  remnant  and  fight  for  them  against 
the  heathen  (1-3). 

ii.  Partial  deliverance  and  future  light  and  purification 
(xiv.  4-1 1).  Jehovah  shall  descend  upon  the  Mount  of  Olivesj 
which  shall  be  cleft  asunder  into  a  deep  valley,  and  through 
this  ravine,  which  shall  reach  unto  Azel,'  shall  many  flee 
in  a  wild  panic  like  that  at  the  terrible  earthquake  in  the  days 
of  King  Uzziah.^  In  that  day  there  shall  not  be  light,  but  cold 
and  ice  ;  but  at  evening  time  if  shall  be  light  (4-7).  And  in 
that  day  living  waters  shall  flow  from  Jerusalem,  summer  and 
winter,  to  the  eastern  and  western  seas.^  Jehovah  will  be  the 
universal  King  ;  and  from  Geba  in  the  north  of  Judah  to 
Rimmon  in  the  south  the  whole  land  shall  be  a  plain  in  which 
Jerusalem  shall  be  exalted,  and  secure,  and  free  from  curse 
(8-1 1). 

iii.  Judgment  on  the  enemies  (xiv.  12-15).  They  that  make 
war  upon  Jerusalem  shall  be  smitten  with  a  plague  of  rottenness 
(12),  and  with  a  panic  which  shall  drive  them  to  mutual  destruc- 
tion (12,  13),  and  Judah  and  Jerusalem  shall  divide  the  rich 
spoil  which  they  leave  behind  them  (14)  and  the  war-animals 
and  cattle  of  their  camp  shall  be  smitten  with  the  same  con- 
suming stroke.'* 

iv.  The  Messianic  kingdom  (xiv.  16-21).  The  consequence 
of  this  judgment  on  heathen  foes,  and  of  the  purification  of  the 

'  The  allusion  is  highly  uncertain,  and  an(3ther  reading,  adopted  by  tlie 
Targum,  LXX.,  &c.,  gives  the  sense,  "and  the  valley  of  my  mountains 
shall  be  stopped"  (k.  V.,  niarg.).  Others  render  the  word  Azel  "very 
bigh."      If  a  place  is  intended  it  may  be  the  Beth-Ezel  of  Mic.  i.  11. 

^  Amos  i.  I.  3  Ezek.  xlviii.  ;  Joel  iii.  18. 

<  In  the  manner  of  the  deliverance  there  are  obvious  reminiscences  of 
Isa.  xxxvii.  36  ;  Judg.  vii.  22  ;  2  Chron.  xx.  23.    (Comp.  Ezek.  xxxviiL  21.) 


222  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

Holy  City  shall  be  that  all  the  opposing  nations  shall  acknow- 
ledge Jehovah,  and  go  up  to  worship  Him  at  the  annual  Feast 
of  Tabernacles.  If  any  refuse  to  do  this  no  rain  shall  fall  on 
them;  and  if  this  be  but  a  matter  of  small  punishment  to  the 
Egyptians,'  they  and  all  who  refuse  to  keep  the  feast  shall  be 
smitten  with  plague.  And  so  widely  spread  shall  1  this  wor- 
ship that  even  on  the  bells  of  the  horses,  as  oi>  the  ligh  priest's 
mitre,  shall  be  engraven  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord"  ;  and  every 
common  earthen  vessel  in  Jerusalem  shall  have  a  sacredncss 
like  that  of  the  vessels  of  the  sanctuary  ;  and  all  who  come  to 
sacrifice  shall  use  them  as  holy  vessels,  and  there  shall  be  no 
more  any  Canaanite  (or  "trafficker")  in  the  house  of  the  Lord 
of  Hosts. 

It  will  be  observed  that  all  this  language  is  only  capable  of 
figurative  and  typical  explanation  ;  otherwise  it  does  not  corre- 
spond to  any  facts  of  history. 

»  But  the  words  rendered  "  that  have  no  rain,"  in  xiv.  i8,  are  probably 
corrupt,  and  may  mean  (omitting  the  negative)  "then  shall  fall  on  them 
the  plague." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

MALACHI. 

The  name  Malachi — Date  of  the  prophet— Condition  of  contemporary 
society — Deeply  seated  evils— Germs  of  ultimate  Judaism— Style  of 
Malachi — Outline  of  the  book — I.  Sins  of  the  priests— i.  Introductory 
statement — ii.  Ingratitude  of  the  priests — II.  Sins  of  the  people — 
Heathen  marriages  and  divorces — i.  Defiance — ii.  Warning — iii.  Dis- 
trust— iv.  The  day  of  the  Lord. 

The  name  Malachi  means  "my  messenger"  or  "  my  angel." 
It  is  a  name  which  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  Old  or  New 
Testament,  and  has  consequently  led  to  the  absurd  conjecture 
that  Malachi  was  an  incarnate  angel,  a  conjecture  which  in  early 
days  some  extended  to  Haggai  also  (see  Hag.  i.  13).  The 
Seprtuagint  translators  render  Mai.  i.  i,  "  The  oracle  of  the  word 
of  the  Lord  to  Israel  by  the  hand  of  His  angel.'' '  If  Malachi 
were  the  real  name  of  the  writer  he  perhaps  makes  a  passing 
allusion  to  it  in  iii.  i,  "  Behold  I  send  you  My  messetiger'^'^ 
Possibly,  however,  the  real  name  of  the  prophet  was  forgotten, 
or  purposely  withheld,  and  then  the  suggestion  of  the  name 
"  Malachi  "  may  have  come  from  this  verse.  The  Targum  of 
Jonathan  and  many  Rabbis,  followed  by  Hengstenberg.  suppose 
that  Ezra  was  the  author  ;  ^  but  the  authorship  of  so  celebrated 
and  influential  a  man  as  "  the  second  Moses  "  would  certainly 
have  been  remembered.  All  that  we  can  say  is  that  Malachi 
was  either  the  actual  name  of  this  prophet,  probably  abbreviated 
from  Malachyahu,  or  a  name  which  he  earned  by  his  ministra- 
tions, and  which  became  current  among  the  people.  Of  his  life 
no  single  fact  is  recorded,  but  we  may  infer  from  the  book  itself 

'  Reading,  perhaps,  Malac/io.  In  2  Esdras  i.  39-40  we  find  "and 
Malachy,  which  is  called  also  an  angel  of  tlie  Lord."  Pseudo-Epiphanius 
makes  him  a  Levite  of  Zebulun,  born  at  Sotira. 

^  Comp.  Hag.  i.  13  ;  Isa.  xliv.  26. 

3  Comp.  Ezra  ix.  4.  14,  15  with  Mai.  iii.  6,  16.  So,  too,  St.  Jerome, 
"  Malachi  autem  Hebraci  Ezram  destimant  sacerdotem." 


224  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

that  he  was  a  priest,  or  had  close  relations  with  the  pricbthood. 
It  is  no  more  astonishing  that  he  should  be  "a  name  and  nothing 
more"  than  that  a  similar  fate  should  have  befallen  the  many 
sweet  psalmists  who  sang  during  and  after  the  Captivity. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  he  wrote  in  the  period  after  the  Exile, 
and  perhaps  a  century  later  than  Haggai  and  Zechariah — in 
which  case  we  observe  that  the  Minor  Prophets  from  Amos  to 
Malachi  cover  a  period  of  four  centuries — nearly  equal  to  that 
from  Chaucer  to  Wordsworth. 

Malachi  has  been  called  "  the  Seal,"  because  his  book  closes 
the  canon  of  the  Old  'lestament.  The  indications  of  his  book 
point  to  the  days  of  Nehemiah.  Ezra  had  returned  with  his 
band  of  exiles  K.c.  458,  Nehemiah  returned  B.C.  445.  The 
marriages  with  the  heathen,  which  caused  such  anguish  to  the 
heart  of  Nehemiah  (Neh.  xiii.  23-28),'  also  form  one  of  the  sub- 
jects of  Malachi's  reproofs  (ii.  11-13).  The  main  complaint  of  the 
prophet  is  against  the  priests  for  their  slackness  and  niggardli- 
ness in  connection  with  the  Temple  offerings.  This  would  not 
accord  with  the  outburst  of  passing  zeal  which  marked  the 
renewal  of  the  covenant  recorded  in  Neh.  x.  28-39  !  "O''  is  it 
likely  that  Nehemiah,  a  governor  conspicuous  for  his  generosity, 
was  in  the  habit  of  receiving  presents  from  the  people  like  the 
governor  alluded  to  in  Mai.  i.  8.  It  has  therefore  been  assumed 
with  much  probability  that  the  period  of  Malachi's  activity 
occurred  during  the  twelve  years'  absence  of  Nehemiah  at  the 
Court  of  Artaxerxes.  The  governor  himself  narrates  to  us  (xiii. 
6fif.)  the  many  abuses  which  sprung  up  during  his  absence 
(B.C.  433-424).  In  B.C.  424  Artaxerxes  died,  and  the  return  of 
Nehemiah  to  his  office  led  to  strenuous  measures  of  reformation 
which  perhaps  put  an  end  to  the  laxity  and  godlessness  which 
called  forth  this  last  flush  in  the  sunset  of  Hebrew  prophecy.' 

Malachi's  denunciations  will  set  before  us  the  deep-seated  evils 
of  the  days  in  which  his  lot  was  cast.  It  is  interesting  to  trace 
in  him  the  gradual  growth  of  a  new  order  of  polity  and  a  new 
tone  of  thought  among  the  exiles  who  had  returned  to  their 
rebuilt  but  humbled  and  impoverished  city.  The  Exile  itself 
had  already  vanished  into  the  distant  past,  and  is  not  here 
alluded  to.     The  Temple  had  been  completed.     "  The  priests," 

>  Ezra  ix.  i,  2  ;  x.  17. 

»  Malaclii  was  contemporary  with  the  first  part  of  tlie  first  l'eloi>onnesian 
War.     The  thirty  years'  truce  began  B.C.  445. 


MALACHI.  225 

says  Evvald,  "  not  only  possessed  the  preponderating  authority 
with  regard  to  it,  but  had  thereby  acquired  a  kind  of  arrogance 
and  covetousness  wliich  continued  to  develop  itself  increasingly 
in  the  course  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  and  ended  in  the 
establishment  of  a  fully-developed  hierarchy''  (i.  6  ;  ii.  9;  iii. 
3-4).  There  was  tolerable  order  and  repose,  but  the  lofty 
enthusiasm  kindled  by  the  first  return  of  the  exiles  had  passed 
away  amid  the  weakness  of  their  circumstances.  The  realisa- 
tion of  the  splendid  Messianic  hopes,  on  which  so  many  of  the 
prophets  had  dwelt,  and  of  which  the  fulfilment  had  been 
eagerly  anticipated  as  a  reward  for  the  present  scrupulosity  of 
adherence  to  the  Mosaic  law,  seemed  to  have  receded  into  the 
distance.  This  delay  of  the  promises  had  caused  on  the  one 
hand  a  querulous  dislike  of  religious  services,  and  on  the  other 
an  arrogant  repudiation  of  them  altogether.  Already  we  see  in 
Malachi  the  germs  of  Pharisaism  which  relied  on  mere  external 
ordinances;  of  the  Sadduceeism,  which  minimised  the  elements 
of  religious  faith  ;  and  of  the  open  worldliness  which  cared  for 
nothing  but  the  greed  and  the  lusts  of  the  present  life.  But 
the  saddest  sign  of  all  was  the  degeneracy  of  the  priesthood 
which  Malachi,  though  perhaps  himself  a  priest,  was  specially 
commissioned  to  denounce.  The  lack  of  all  real  faith  and  moral 
soundness  in  the  very  order  which  ought  to  have  kept  alive 
among  the  people  the  essential  elements  of  the  spiritual  life, 
was  eating  like  a  cancer  into  the  heart  of  the  national  sincerity. 
Unhappily  it  was  developed  more  and  more  during  the  succeeding 
centuries  till  in  the  hour  of  visitation  the  priests,  headed  by 
their  chief  priests,  stood  forth  pre-eminent  in  the  guilt  of  Judah's 
crowning  crime,  the  murder  of  the  Lord  of  glory  in  the  supposed 
interests  of  the  religious  hierarchy. 

The  style  of  Malachi  differs  from  that  of  the  great  prophets. 
It  has  scarcely  a  trace  of  the  poetic  and  rhetorical  passion  which 
throbs  through  their  vehement  pages.  It  is  pure  and  polished 
but  essentially  prosaic,  and  it  introduces  the  new  literary 
machinery  of  repeated  question  and  answer,  a  dialectic  form  of 
writing  which  is  not  without  a  certain  charm  of  its  own,  but 
which  opened  such  facilities  for  imitation  that  it  becatie  very 
frequent  in  the  literature  of  later  Judaism. 

Ewald  divides  the  book  with  reference  to  the  three  views  ok 
God  which  it  sets  forth  as  the  Father  and  Lord  of  His  people 
(i.  2-ii.  9),  as  the  only  God  and  Father  (ii.  10-16),  and  as  the 

16 


226  THE    MINOR    PROPHETS. 

unchangeably  rij;hteous  and  final  Judge  (ii.  17-iv.  6).  His 
treatment  of  the  Minor  Prophets  is  so  able  and  so  full  of  insight 
that  it  is  always  well  to  observe  his  su^^gestions.  But  we  may 
perhaps  divide  the  book  more  simply.  After  the  brief  introduc- 
tion on  the  love  of  God  for  Judah  (i.  2-51,  it  falls  into  the  three 
sections  or  mainly  occupied  with — i.  Denunciation  of  the  sins 
of  the  priests  (i.  6-ii.  9).  2.  l^enunciation  of  the  sins  of  tlie 
people  (ii.  lo-iii.  15).  3.  Prophecy  of  the  Day  of  the  Lord, 
and  its  forerunner. 

I.  Sins  of  the  Priests. 

i.  Introductory  statement  (i.  2-5).— After  the  brief  title  (i.  i) 
the  book  opens  with  the  emphatic  utterance,  "  I  have  loved 
you,  saith  the  Lord,"  and  then,  falling  into  the  dialectic  method 
of  which  the  writer  was  sofond,  it  continues,  "Yet  ye  say,  Wherein 
hast  Thou  loved  us?"  and  proceeds  to  give  the  proof  of  this 
love  by  contrasting  the  fortunes  of  the  two  kindred  peoples — 
Edom  and  Israel.  Over  the  border  of  Israel  the  Lord  is  great 
(i.  5),  whereas  Edom  lies  in  utter  ruin.  The  description  evidently 
points  to  a  recent  catastrophe,  and  is  another  incidental  proof 
of  the  overthrow  of  Edom  by  her  own  false  and  contemptuous 
allies  the  Chaldeans,  of  which  we  have  read  the  prophecy  in 
Obadiah  (i.  7).  Edom  might  struggle  to  recover  her  old  position, 
but  what  she  might  build  Jehovah  would  throw  down,  and  she 
should  be  known  as  "the  border  of  wickedness,"  or,  as  Isaiah 
calls  her,  "  the  people  of  the  ban.'' 

ii.  Ingratitude  of  the  priests  for  the  love  of  God. — If,  then, 
God  be  a  Father  to  Israel,  where  is  the  honour  and  fear  which 
is  His  due?  The  priests  have  despised  His  name.  If  they 
ask  "How?"  the  answer  is  that  they  despise  the  table  of  the 
Lord  and  ofifer  polluted  bread  upon  His  altar,"  and  bring  blind 
and  sick  and  lame  victims  for  sacrifice,  such  as  even  their  earthly 
governor  would  refuse  with  indignation.  How  could  God  be 
pleased  with  their  ministrations  ?  Better  no  worship  at  all  than 
a  worship  so  selfish  and  insulting.  Would  that  one  of  them 
would  shut  the  doors  of  the  Temple  altogether  rather  than  that 
(iod  should  be  dishonoured  by  Jewish  priests  at  the  very  time 
that,  among  the  heathen,  His  name  is  feared  and  honoured, 
and  to  the  eye  of  prophecy  incense  and  a  pure  offering — the 
acceptable  sacrifices  of  prayer  and  love — are  offered  from  the 

'  The  shewbread  was  not  offered  on  the  altar.  The  word  "  bread  "  hero 
means  "  flesli  "or  "  food  "  (comp.  Lev.  iii.  11,  16). 


MALACHI.  227 

rising  to  the  setting  sun  (i.  6-1 1).'  Is  this,  then,  the  time  for 
the  priests  to  be  treating  God's  worship  as  a  weariness  and  a 
thing  to  be  despised,  and  (in  defiance  of  the  covenant  so  recently 
made,  Neh.  x.  28-39)  to  be  violating  their  sacred  vows  and 
cheating  Jehovah  of  their  promised  offerings?  (i.  12-14).  Un- 
less they  repent  God  will  send  His  curse  upon  them.  Yea  ! 
He  has  sent  it  already,  and  the  terrible  fruits  of  it  are  already 
visible,  and  shall  be  yet  more  so  (ii.  1-3),^  because  the  priests 
have  broken  the  sacred  covenant  to  which,  in  old  days,  the 
House  of  Levi  was  faithful  (ii.  4-7).^  Nothing  but  shame  could 
fall  on  them  for  such  misconduct  (ii.  8,  9).  The  ideal  priest  is 
here  characterized,  not  by  ceremonial  exactitude  but  by  moral 
integrity. 

II.  The  sins  of  the  people  (ii.  lo-iii.  15). 

God  is  the  Father  of  the  nation  ;  why,  then,  do  the  people 
deal  treacherously  with  each  other  by  profaning  the  covenant 
of  their  fathers.''  For  the  marriages  with  heathen  women  are 
a  profanation  of  the  covenant  which  God  will  punish  (ii.  10-12).^ 
And  they  were  guilty  of  a  further  offence  of  which  the  conse- 
quence was  that  women  came  weeping  and  wailing  to  the  altar 
of  Jehovah  and  covering  it  with  their  tears.^     For  they  were 

'  In  i.  II  the  participles  may  be  either  rendered  by  presents  or  futures.  If 
the  former  we  must  suppose  that  Malachi  alludes  to  the  better  side  of 
heathen  worship.  If  the  latter,  we  must  see  in  them  a  prophecy  of  the 
conversion  of  the  Gentiles.  It  is  as  absurd  to  quote  this  verse  as  a  plea  for 
the  use  of  incense  in  churches  as  it  would  be  to  quote  Zech.  xiv.  16-21  as  a 
proof  that  we  ought  to  keep  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  The  Council 
of  Trent,  following  many  of  the  Fathers,  applies  "a  pure  offering "  to  the 
Eucharist. 

^  The  Rev.  S.  Cox  points  out  ("  Bible  Educator,"  iii.  35)  an  interesting 
allusion  of  Malachi's  in  ii.  2  to  the  passages  which  Nehomiah  had  heard 
from  the  law,  and  which  led  to  his  reformation  of  the  heathen  marriages 
(Neh.  xiii.  1-3). 

3  The  reference  is  specially  to  the  faithfulness  of  Phinehas  and  Levi 
recorded  in  Numb.  xxv.  6-15. 

■•  "  The  Lord  will  cut  off  .  .  .  the  master  and  the  scholar."  These  are 
literally,  as  in  R.V.,  "him  that  waketh  and  him  that  answereth,"  i.e.,  the 
watchman  of  the  city  and  the  inhabitants.  In  the  Arabic  life  of  Tamerlane 
s  a  clause,  "  When  he  left  the  city  there  was  not  a  crier  or  an  answerer  in 
it,"  i.e.,  all  were  massacred. 

S  The  meaning  and  connexion  are  uncertain.  This  is  one  of  several 
most  obscure  passages  in  this  latest  of  the  prophets.  Some  interpret  the 
verse  as  a   thycat  of  the  miicry   which  shall  yet  come  upon  the  priests. 


228  THE   MINOR   PROPHETS 

guilty  of  practising  divorce  on  slight  pretexts,  and  of  dealing 
treacherously  against  the  wives  of  their  youth.  No  one  acted 
thus  who  had  even  a  residue  of  God's  spirit.  If  they  ask, 
"  What  did  the  ancient  founder  of  their  race  (Abraham)  do 
when  he  dismissed  Hagar?"  the  answer  is  that  his  one  great 
object  was  to  secure  a  holy  seed."  But  God  hates  divorce,  and 
lie  who  without  cause  puts  his  wife  away,  covers  his  garment 
with  violence,  i.e,^  stands  before  the  world  as  an  outrageous 
transgressor.^     Therefore  let  them  take  heed  (ii.  13-16). 

i.  Defiance. — But  so  far  from  taking  heed,  some  (as  the  prophet 
shows  in  three  separate  scenes)  were  indulging  in  insolent 
defiance  either  by  denying  moral  obligations  altogether,  or  by 
doubting  that  God  would  judge  (ii.  17).  Sternly  should  their  eyes 
be  opened  !  They  murmured  that  the  wicked  were  prosperous, 
but  they  themselves  were  wicked.  God  would  send  His  messen- 
ger, the  Angel  of  His  covenant,  the  manifestation  of  Himself, 
suddenly  to  His  Temple,  and  He  would  purge  the  sons  of  Levi 
with  refining  fire  till  their  offerings  were  pleasant  as  in  the 
days  of  old.  He  be  a  swift  witness  against  the  sorcerers,  adul- 
terers, perjurers,  oppressors,  and  insolent.  "  For  I  am  Jehovah. 
I  change  not ;  therefore,  ye  sons  of  Jacob,  ye  are  not  con- 
sumed "  3  (ii.  17-iii.  6). 

Others  again  think  that  this  and  the  following  verses  refer  to  the  cruel  and 
hasty  divorce  of  wives  of  foreign  race  from  false  motives  and  on  insuffi- 
cient grounds.  But  if  so  it  comes  in  abruptly  after  a  warning  against  mixed 
marriages.  The  wailing  women  are  perhaps  Jewish  wives  divorced  to 
form  idolatrous  connexions. 

•  Such  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  this  most  difficult  passage.  See 
Gen.  xxi.  12.  It  is  a  partial  excuse  for  the  extraordinary  rigour  of  Ezra, 
Nehcmiah,  and  the  religious  teachers  of  the  returned  exiles,  who  took  a  far 
more  severe  view  of  these  mixed  marriages  than  had  ever  been  taken  in 
earlier  days.  Joseph  had  married  an  Egyptian,  Moses  himself  was  married 
to  an  Ethiopian  woman,  and  some  of  the  judges  and  kings  of  Israel,  as 
well  as  Abraham,  had  married  heathen  women  without  roproof.  The 
reformers  no  doubt  appealed  to  Exod.  xxxiv.  16,  Deut.  vii.  4,  and  to  the 
altered  necessities  of  the  times  and  of  the  covenant.  As  regards  divorce, 
whicl)  had  been  permitted  in  Deut.  xxiv.  i,  the  energetic  language  of 
Malachi,  "The  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  saith  I  hate  divorce,"  anticipates 
the  judgment  of  our  Lord  (Matt.  xix.  8). 

^  So  V.  Orclli,  Ewald,  Scliullen,  Gcsenius.  Hitzig,  pressing  too  far  an 
Arabic  analogy,  makes  "  his  garment  "  mean  "  his  wife."  The  Koran  says, 
'  Wives  are  your  attire  and  ye  arc  theirs." 

1  The  meaning  of  this  last  clause  is  uncertain.     Ewald  renders  it,  "  But 


MALACHI.  229 

ii.  Warnings. — How  little  were  they  prepared  for  the  coming 
Judge  !  Their  transgressions  have  continued  even  from  the 
days  of  their  fathers.  Return  unto  Me  and  I  will  return  unto 
you,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Do  they  ask  what  special  amend- 
ment God  requires?  Let  them  rob  Him  no  longer  as  the  whole 
nation  has  done,  in  tithes  and  offerings.  Their  harvests  are  now 
locust-eaten,  their  vineyards  blighted  ;  but  if  they  would  return 
to  their  duty,  God  would  open  for  them  the  windows  of  heaven, 
and  all  nations  should  call  them  happy  (iii.  7-12). 

iii.  Distrust. — Let  them  then  repent  for  one  more  sin — that 
of  cjuerulous  distrust.  Serving  God  with  outward  ordinances 
in  the  spirit  of  hirelings,  they  had  expected  that  He  would  at 
once  reward  them  for  their  small  Levitic  scupulosities  and  out- 
ward humiliations.'  And  because  these  cheap  things  did  not  at 
once  meet  with  an  overflowing  reward  they  blasphemously  envied 
the  happiness  of  those  who  altogether  set  God  at  naught  (iii. 

13-15)- 

But  not  so  all  of  them.  Some  there  were  whose  words  of 
pious  trust  and  mutual  encouragement  had  been  recorded  in 
God's  book  of  remembrance,  and  they  should  be  as  jewels  in 
His  treasure-house,  and  then  all  the  murmurers  should  see  the 
difference  between  the  righteous  and  the  unrighteous,  between 
him  that  serveth  God  and  him  that  serveth  Him  not  (iii.  16-18).' 

iv.  The  day  of  the  Lord  i^w.). — The  prophet  concludes  with  a 
few  last  words  of  admonition  and  blessing.  The  day  of  the 
Lord  is  at  hand.  It  shall  utterly  consume  the  wicked.  But 
upon  those  who  fear  God  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  shall  rise 
with  healing  in  His  wings  (iv.  1-3).  Let  them  then  remember 
the  Law  of  Moses  (4),  for  before  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of 
the  Lord  He  would  send  them  Elijah  the  prophet.3     He  would 

ye  sons  of  Jacob,  have  ye  not  altered  ?  "  But  comp.  Ezra  ix.  14,  15.  "  The 
gifts  and  calling  of  God  are  without  repentance,"  and  the  sons  of  Israel 
were,  after  all,  sons  of  the  covenant. 

'  The  passage  is  an  early  trace  of  the  development  of  Pharisaism. 

'  Mr.  Cox  points  out  that  though  Malachi  gives  us  specimens  of  the 
murmurs  of  the  sceptics,  he  gives  none  of  the  mutual  communings  of  those 
who  feared  Jehovah.  These,  however,  may  be  found  in  Psalms  cxxv., 
cxxvi.,  cxxvii.,  cxxix. 

3  "  There  is  no  more  reason  to  suppose  that  this  refers  to  'Elijah'  in 
person  than  to  imagine  from  Hos.  iii.  5  ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  23  ;  Jer.  xxx.  g,  &c., 
that  David  himself  is  to  come  in  the  flesh  "  (Bishop  EUicott's  Commentary 
v.,  p.  609). 


230  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

heal  the  domestic  disunion  which  sin  had  brought  upon  them.' 
This  must  be  done  to  avert  the  ban  with  which  (lod  must 
otherwise  smite  the  land.  Thus  the  last  prophet  of  the  old  dis- 
pensation closes  with  the  promise  of  the  forerunner  of  the  new. 

It  is  remarkable  that  like  Isaiah,  Lamentations,  and  Eccle- 
siastes,  the  book  ends  with  words  of  sternness  and  ill  omen. 
Many  a  Christian  reader  must  have  been  a  little  shocked  to  find 
that  the  last  word  in  his  Old  Testament  is  "  curse.''  The  word, 
however,  is  technical.  It  is  "the  cherem^''  or  ban  ;  and  the  ban 
alluded  to,  in  case  of  hardened  impenitence,  is  exactly  that 
which  has  fallen  for  ages  upon  Palestine — the  ban  of  desola- 
tion. The  Jews,  who  are  extremely  sensitive  in  the  matter  of 
omens,  get  over  the  difficulty  in  these  three  books  by  always 
repeating  after  the  last  \  erse  the  last  but  one,  and  so  ending 
Isaiah  and  Ecclesiastes  with  the  word  Jehovah. 

"  Malachi  is  like  a  late  evening  which  brings  a  long  day  to  a 
close,  but  he  is  also  like  a  morning  dawn  which  brings  with  it 
the  promise  of  a  new  and  more  glorious  day."  And  it  is  very 
significant  that  as  in  the  New  Testament  Christ  is  heralded  by 
the  great  forerunner  who  in  all  the  circumstances  of  his  life  and 
story  so  closely  recalled  Elijah,  and  who  evidently  had  in  his 
mind  the  words  of  Malachi  as  well  as  of  Isaiah  ;  *  so  Christ  was 
attended  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  by  Moses  and  Elijah, 
and  the  law  of  Moses  and  the  mission  of  Elijah  are  the  two 
most  prominent  thoughts  in  the  last  of  the  prophets.  The 
figure  of  the  herald  in  the  wilderness,  of  the  great  lawgiver,  of 
the  mighty  prophet,  cast  their  dim  shadows  upon  the  page  of 
Malachi  ;  they  shine  forth  in  all  their  majesty  in  the  pages  of  the 
Gospels  under  the  splendour  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  rising 
with  healing  in  His  wings. 

'  This  is  the  prima  fiuic  meaning  ;  but  perhaps  Keil  is  right  in  inter- 
preting it  to  mean  that  the  hearts  of  the  degenerate  descendants  of  the 
Israelites  would  be  better  attuned  to  the  hearts  of  their  forefathers  the 
patriarchs.  It  has  been  noticed  that  Malachi  is  decidedly  a  laudator  tem- 
poris  iJiti. 

=  Comp.  Mall.  iii.  ii,  12  ;  xi.  3,  10,  14,  with  Mai.  iii.  i  ;  iv.  i. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

JONAH. 

Peculiarity  of  the  boolc— Its  late  origin— Its  purpose  and  lessons— Diffi- 
culties— Arguments  of  those  who  defend  its  genuineness- i.  Defence 
of  the  miraculous — ii.  Historical  parallels— iii.  Reference  of  our  Lord. 

The  Book  of  Jonah  differs  from  every  other  book  in  the  pro- 
phetic canon.  It  is  not  a  prophecy  ;  nor  is  it  written  purely 
from  the  historic  point  of  view,  like  the  stories  of  Elijah  and 
Elisha.  It  is,  as  Stahelin  says,  "the  history  of  a  prophecy,"  but 
perhaps  it  is  neither  meant  to  be  historical  nor  prophetic,  but  a 
moral  and  spiritual  lesson.  The  prophet  appears  upon  the  stage 
and  disappears  with  equal  suddenness.  Nothing  is  told  us 
about  his  origin  or  previous  history,  and  nothing  about  his 
ultimate  fortunes.  It  is  a  book  written  exclusively  for  the  pur- 
pose of  leaching  great  rnoral  and  spiritual  lessons.  Hence  it 
breaks  off  with  startling  abruptness.  When  the  writer  had  ac- 
complished his  purpose  he  felt  no  necessity  to  tell  us  anything 
more.  The  book  does  not  profess  to  have  been  written  by  Jonah 
himself.  The  prophet  is  always  spoken  of  in  the  third  person, 
and  Nineveh  (iii.  3)  is  alluded  to  as  no  longer  existent.  The 
book  contains  many  Aramaic  forms  which  accord  with  the 
growing  conviction  that  it  was  the  work  of  a  writer  who  lived 
after  the  Exile,  or  at  any  rate  towards  its  close.  This  is  the 
view  of  Kleinert,  Ewald,  Bleek,  Noldeke,  Schrader,  Reuss,  and 
v.  Orelh.  Hitzig  places  it  as  late  as  the  Maccabean  age.  The 
prayer  of  Jonah  may  be,  and  probably  is,  of  older  origin,  but 
the  attempts  to  regard  the  book  as  one  of  the  eighth  century 
before  Christ,  and  the  explanation  of  its  Aramaic  forms  as 
peculiarities  of  the  dialect  of  North  Palestine,  find  an  ever- 
decreasing  number  of  followers. 

Many  different  views  have  been  adopted  as  to  the  purpose  of 
the  book.  Hitzig  and  others  suppose  that  it  was  written  with 
an  apologetic  purpose.      Many  of  the  older   prophecies  had 


232  THE    MINOR    PROF'HKTS. 

remained  unfulfilled,  and  the  writer  wished  to  show  that  (iod's 
menaces  were  always  to  be  regarded  as  conditional.  It  would 
then  be  the  author's  object  to  set  forth  a  correct  view  of  the 
functions  of  the  true  prophet,  which,  as  Von  Hofmann  defines 
them,  were  :  i.  To  deliver  God's  mcb>iijje  whatever  it  was  ;  2.  To 
be  absolutely  fearless,  even  in  peril  of  death  ;  3.  Not  to  trouble 
himself  about  the  fulfilment  of  his  prophecies,  but  to  leave  them 
absolutely  in  the  hands  of  Clod. 

No  doubt  the  book  contains  such  lessons — but  it  also  contains 
other  and  deeper  lessons,  and  from  the  two  closing  verses  we 
should  rather  infer  that  its  main  purport  wa%  to  overthrow  the 
narrow  conceit  of  Jewish  particularism,  and  to  reveal  God's  true 
relations  of  merciful  Fatherhood  towards  the  Gentile  world. 
This  was  the  view  of  Rabbi  Kimchi,  and  it  has  been  adopted  by 
many  eminent  critics,  and  among  others  by  De  Wette,  De- 
litzsch,  and  Bleek.  Certainly  this  is  one  of  the  main  truths  which 
the  book  develops,  and  it  could  have  had  no  worthier  or  more 
original  aim,  especially  amid  the  ever-narrowing  exclusiveness 
of  the  age  to  which  it  probably  belongs. 

The  strange  character  of  the  story  and  its  immense  difficulties 
and  improbabilities  of  every  kind  have  led  to  the  wildest  hypo- 
theses about  it.  Renan  regards  it  as  a  stinging  satire  against 
the  prophets.  Gesenius,  De  Wette,  Knobel,  and  others,  try, 
very  unsuccessfully,  to  trace  the  groundwork  of  it  to  some 
Greek  myth.'  As  far  back  as  the  Middle  Ages  so  great  a  com- 
mentator as  Abarbanel  thought  that  the  story  of  the  fish 
represented  a  dream.  Others  have  supposed  that  the  fish 
was  the  sign  of  a  vessel  which  rescued  the  drowning  pro- 
phet.* Commentators  are  yet  divided  between  the  belief  that 
it  is  an  historic  narrative  of  events,  real,  though  stupendously 
miraculous  ;  and  the  opinion  that  it  is  a  late  but  interesting 
specimen  of  the  Jewish  Hagada— a  legend  attached  to  the  name 
of  the  historic  Jonah,  and  worked  out  into  spiritual  lessons. 
They  find  insuperable  historic  difficulties  in  the  account  of  the 
mission  to  Nineveh,  and  the  repentance  of  that  vast  and  cruel 
capital,  and  its  bloodstained  despots  ;  and  many  other  difficulties 

•  This  unfortunate  and  most  improbable  view  was  first  suggested  by 
F.  C.  Baur  (Ilgen's  "Zeitschz,"  vii.  201.     1837). 

*  Clericus,  "  Bibl.,"  xx.  2,  459.  Many  strange  opinions  are  enumerated 
in  Fripdiichsen's  "  Krit.  Uebersicht  d.  Verschied.  Aussicliten  d.  Buch 
Jona."     1841, 


JONAH,  233 

which  lead  one  commentator  to  say  that  "the  marks  of  a  story 
are  as  patent  in  the  Book  of  Jonah  as  in  any  of  the  thousand 
and  one  tales  of  the  Arabian  Nights."  But  even  if  the  book 
be  one  of  the  Jewish  Hagadoth^  the  intrinsic  worth  of  the 
noble  spiritual  lessons  which  it  was  designed  to  teach  remams 
entirely  unimpaired.  We  value  the  Book  of  Job,  although  in 
that  book  also,  we  see,  not  a  history,  but  a  free  development  of 
legends  and  traditions. 

The  commentators  who  maintain  the  authentic  character  of 
the  story  mainly  insist  on  three  sets  of  considerations. 

I.  They  argue  that  an  event  is  not  to  be  set  aside  because  it 
is  supernatural. 

That  plea  will  be  conceded  by  every  Christian  ;  but  the  insis- 
tence upon  it  involves  an  entire  mistake  as  to  the  point  at 
issue.  Some,  no  doubt,  repudiate  the  historic  character  of  the 
book  because  of  the  stupendous  portents  which,  it  narrates,  and 
to  them  it  may  be  of  use  to  insist  on  the  arguments  which 
justify  our  belief  in  the  occurrence  of  miracles.  But  multi- 
tudes of  Christian  scholars  who  refuse  to  accept  the  book 
literally  are  not  actuated  by  any  n  priori  objections  to 
the  credibility  of  miracles,  but  by  the  failure  to  see  any 
adequate  evidence,  or  indeed  any  real  evidence  at  all,  for 
those  which  are  here  recorded.'  To  brand  this  as  "unbelief," 
and  to  stigmatise  it  as  criminal,  is  a  method  of  controversy 
adopted  in  many  English  commentaries.  But  it  is  never- 
theless unfair  and  unwarrantable.  A  brighter  love  of  truth, 
and  a  deeper  belief  may  be  evinced  by  the  rejection  of 
narratives  which  do  not  appear  to  be  sufficiently  authenti- 
cated than  by  their  '^..nd,  indiscriminate,  and  uncritical 
acceptance.  The  reasons  which  scholars  have  adduced  for 
regarding  the  Book  of  Jonah  as  a  late  product  of  Jewish  Htera- 
ture  belonging  to  the  same  general  cycle  as  some  of  those  which 
are  preserved  in  the  Apocrypha,  are  strong  reasons,  and  they 
have  been  sufficiently  valid  to  convince  many  of  the  most  devout 
scholars  both  in  Germany  and  in  England.^  To  assail  them  as 
infidels  or  unbelievers  is  to  use  a  coarse,  blunt,  and  rusty  weapon, 

'  This  entirely  false  issue  on  which  Dr.  Pusey  and  others  insist  is  as  old 
as  St.  Augustine,  in  whoni  it  is  more  excusable.  Aug.,  "Ep.,"  cii.,  and 
Cyril  of  .Mexandria  ("  Comm.  in  Jonam  "). 

2  It  is  strange  that  any  one  should  refer  to  Jer.  li.,  Tob.  xiv.  8,  or  Jose- 
phus.  "Ant.,"  ix.  10,  \  2,  as  proofs  that  the  whole  story  is  literally  true. 


?34  THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 

which  in  these  days,  at  any  rate,  will  only  betray  the  weakness 
of  the  cause  of  those  who  wield  it. 

2.  The  defenders  of  the  historical  character  of  the  book  brinji 
as  many  parallels  as  they  can  find  to  illustrate  the  incidents 
narrated.  They  try  to  show  that  there  is  nothing  so  very  sur- 
prising in  the  fact  of  Jonah's  being  swallowed  by  a  fish,  and  cast 
upon  the  shore.  But  if  the  story  of  Jonah  be  literally  true,  it 
involves  miracles  of  the  most  decisive  and  absolute  character, 
and  nothing  is  gained  by  the  attempt  to  minimise  them,  or 
explain  them  away.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  shown  with 
entire  success  that  many  minor  details  and  incidents  which 
might  seem  surprising,  such  as  the  commanded  mourning  of 
beasts  as  well  as  men  (comp.  Hdt.  ix.  24),  are  quite  in  accor- 
dance with  probability.  Nor — apart  from  the  difficultyof  historic 
identification — is  there  anything  inherently  impossible  in  the 
effect  attributed  to  Jonah's  preaching.  "  It  was  not  necessaiy 
to  the  effect  of  Jonah's  preaching,"  says  Mr.  Layard,  "that  he 
should  be  of  the  religion  of  the  people  of  Nineveh.  I  have 
known  a  Christian  priest  frighten  a  whole  Mussulman  town  to 
tears  and  repentance  by  publicly  proclaiming  that  he  had  re- 
ceived a  Divine  mission  to  announce  a  coming  earthcjuake  or 
plague." ' 

3.  'J'hey  quote  the  allusions  of  our  Lord  to  "  the  sign  of  the 
I'rophet  Jonah,"  as  a  decisive  proof  that  the  story  must  be  real. 
In  Matt.  xii.  39,  40,  this  reference  is  explained  :  "  for  as  Jonas 
was  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  fish's  belly,  so  shall  the 
Son  of  Man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the 
earth."  In  the  two  other  Gospel  references,  "  the  sign  of 
the  Prophet  Jonah  "  (Matt.  xvi.  4  ;  Luke  xi.  29),  is  the  repent- 
ance of  the  Ninevites  at  Jonah's  preaching,  and  many  critics 
have  consequently  inferred  that  Matt.  xii.  40  is  an  explanation 
added  afterwards  by  one  who  did  not  understand  the  special 
bearing  of  our  Lord's  allusion.  There  is  perhaps  some  ground 
for  such  a  conjecture  in  the  very  exceptional  difficulties  of  the 
clause,  "so  shall  the  Son  of  man  be  three  days  and  three  nights 
in  the  heart  of  the  earth"  They  may  be  susceptible  of  reason- 
able explanation,  but  they  are  unlike  any  other  reference  in  the 
New  Testament  to  the  period  of  our  Lord's  entombment.  Now, 
if  it  could  be  shown  that  Jesus  intended  by  these  words  to 
stamp  the  story  as  literally  true,  every  Christian  would  at  once, 

•  "  Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  632. 


JONAH.  235 

and  as  a  matter  of  course,  accept  it.  But  this  is  an  assumption  ; 
and  it  is  (again)  a  bad  form  of  uncharitableness  to  adopt  the 
tone  of  those  commentators  who  charge  their  opponents  with 
setting  aside  the  authority  of  Christ.  Seeing  that  our  Lord  so 
largely  adopted  the  method  of  moral  allegory  in  His  own  para- 
bolic teaching — seeing  that  it  was  part  of  His  habit  to  embody 
truth  in  tales  which  were  not  literal  facts,  but  were  only  told  to 
fix  deep  spiritual  lessons  in  the  minds  of  the  hearers — nothing 
is  more  possible  than  that  He  should  have  pointed  to  the  deep 
symbolism  of  an  Old  Testament  parable  without  at  all  intending 
to  imply  that  the  facts  literally  happened.  "  It  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow,"  says  the  Dean  of  Wells  in  his  commentary  on  St. 
Matthew,  "  that  this  use  of  the  history  as  a  prophetic  symbol 
of  the  Resurrection  requires  us  to  accept  it  in  the  very  letter  of 
its  details.  It  was  enough  for  the  purposes  of  the  illustration 
that  it  was  familiar  and  generally  accepted."  Even  a  commen- 
tator so  learned,  conservative,  and  reverent  as  v.  Orelli  admits 
that  the  reality  of  Jonah's  preservation  in  the  belly  of  the  fish 
is  not  to  be  decisively  adduced  from  our  Lord's  allusion  to  it  as 
a  sign  of  the  Resurrection.' 

In  any  case  we  shall  be  turning  this  precious  little  book  to 
the  purpose  most  consonant  with  our  Lord's  own  allusions 
to  it  if  we  try  to  learn  the  spiritual  truths  which  it  sets 
forth  with  incomparable  vividness  and  precision.  Whether  the 
material  in  the  writei^'s  hands  was  legendary  or  not,  he  used  it 
as  the  medium  for  setting  forth  truths  which  had  been  revealed 
to  his  own  heart.  "  We  may  gather  from  it,"  says  Ewald, 
"what  the  true  prophet  of  Jahveh  ought  not  to  be  ;  we  may 
prove  from  it  that  peoples  of  all  callings  and  religions  are 
equal  before  the  Divine  love  and  forgiveness,  though  neither 
the  latter  nor  the  former  truth  is  presented  by  the  author  as 
the  primary  principle  of  his  narrative."  He  classes  the  author 
among  the  prophetic  writers  of  legend  who  abounded  in  the 
latest  stages  of  Jewish  literature.  Like  many  critics,  he  holds 
that  the  hymn  or  prayer  of  Jonah  has  but  little  bearing  on  the 
position  in  which  he  was  supposed  to  be.     It  contains  no  allu- 

'  The  same  may  be  said  of  Ur.  Otto  Zockler.  In  his  "  Hand.  d.  Theol. 
Wissenshaften,"  p.  149,  he  says  that  the  book  is  didactic  not  historic,  and 
adds  with  true  candour,  "  Die  .\ot\vendigkeit  den  Inhalt  fur  buohstablich 
wahre  Geschichte  zu  halten  kann  auch  durch,  Matt.  xii.  39,  nicht  begriindet 
wc-rden. " 


236  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

sion  to  the  sea-monster,  and  we  may  suppose  that  it  was  an 
insertion  derived  from  an  earher  age."  Whatever  may  be 
thought  of  this  question — and  one  of  the  many  conjectures 
about  the  book  is  that  it  was  suggested  by  the  hymn— there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  the  main  part  of  the  book  is  of  homo- 
geneous authorship.  Kiihler,  indeed,  has  tried  to  prove  tliat  the 
passages  1.  8,  ii.  1-9,  iii.  9,  iv.  1-4,  are  interpolations  which  were 
added  as  piirpttrci p<inni  to  the  original  story,  but  he  does  not 
at  all  succeed  in  proving  his  case.'^ 

"  So  obvious,"  says  Kalisch, "  is  the  main  idea  which  pervades 
the  book  and  stamps  it  with  the  character  of  perfect  unity — the 
idea  of  the  wonderful  power  of  true  repentance — that  it  seems 
surprising  that  this  point  should  ever  have  been  mistaken,  and 
should  have  called  forth  the  most  varied  and  most  fancitul 
views."  But  the  book  is  many-sided  in  character,  and  thouj,'h 
the  blessedness  of  penitence  is  prominently  illustrated,  I  shall 
try  to  show  that  other  lessons  are  no  less  piowerfully  enforced. 

The  Book  of  Jonah  is  perhaps  more  derided  than  any  other 
in  the  whole  Bible.  vScoffed  at  by  the  sceptic  now,  as  it  was  by 
the  pagans  in  old  days,  often  a  source  of  perplexity  to  the 
believer,  of  uncertain  date,  of  disputed  interpretation,  it  is  yet 
a  book  of  the  highest  value,  and  from  its  plain  narrative  we 
may  learn  lessons  of  a  Divine  wisdom. 

The  prophet  Jonah,  son  of  Amittai,  lived  in  the  eighth  century 
before  Christ,  and  was  born  at  a  village  named  (iath-Hepher, 
in  the  tribe  of  Zebulon,  about  an  hour's  walk  north  of  Nazareth. 
He  was  therefore  "  a  prophet  out  of  Galilee."  Jewish  legend 
said  that  he  was  the  son  of  the  widow  of  Sarepta,  whom  Elijah 
had  restored  to  life  ;^  and  also  that  he  was  the  youth  whom 

'  See  "  Dichter  d.  Alt.  Bundes,"  i.  155-157. 

*  .See  K.  Kohler,  "  Frophetismus  der  Hcbriier."  Among  the  many  mono- 
graphs on  Jonah  we  may  refer  to  that  by  Kalisch  ("  Bible  Studies,"  ii.), 
who  regards  it  as  an  ethical  romance  founded  (m  fact.  Professor  Clieyne 
has  written  a  |)apcr  on  it  — "Jonah,  a  Study  in  Jewish  Folk-lore  and 
Religion  "  (Mod.  h'n'.,  1877)  —and  also  in  the  last  edition  of  the  "  lincyclo- 
pa-dia  Hritaniiica."  Kut-iien's  views  are  given  in  the  "  Kellgio;i  of  Israel," 
ii,  227-244,  and  "  Hist.  Knt.  Onderz.,"  ii.  412  ff.  He  alludes  to  the  book 
as  "  a  .narrative  which  stands  altogether  by  itself  among  the  writings  of 
the  prophets,  or  indeed  in  the  Old    Testament,"  in   "  IVopli^'ts  (jf   Israel," 

P-  373- 

3  See  Jer.,  "  Pra;f.  in  Jonani."  The  story  is  based  on  the  word  t-mrth 
(i  Kings  xvii.  24),  and  the  naniir  Amiltai.  "  true." 


JONAH.  237 

Elisha  had  sent  to  anoint  Jehu,  l;ing  of  Israel.  The  stories 
hardly  pretend  to  be  true,  but  they  mark  the  age  in  which  the 
historic  Jonah  lived.  All  that  we  know  further  about  him  is 
that  he  had  prophesied  the  victories  which  flung  a  delusive 
gleam  of  prosperity  over  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II.  To  this 
prophet  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  bidding  him  leave  his  home 
in  Israel,  leave  the  countrymen  to  whom  he  had  been  preaching 
all  his  life,  and  go  to  Nineveh  and  cry  against  it.  That  he 
ought  to  obey  this  Divir;e  calling  was  a  conviction  which  came 
upon  him  with  overwhelming  force.  But  the  duty  was  so 
terrible,  it  involved  such  a  vast  self-sacrifice,  that  he  fled  from 
its  fulfilment.  In  Israel,  in  any  country,  the  true  prophet  has 
enough  of  hardship,  of  misrepresentation,  of  religious  hatred, 
and  of  irreligious  hatred  to  bear ;  but  what  were  the  self- 
denials  of  a  witness  for  God  in  Samaria  compared  with  those 
which  he  would  have  to  face  in  going  alone  to  the  mighty 
capital  of  Assyria,  the  dwelling-place  (as  Nahum  calls  it)  of 
the  lion,  and  the  feeding  place  of  the  young  lion  ?  The  hair- 
garment  and  leathern  girdle  of  the  prophet  were  known  in 
Israel,  and  if  they  were  not  honoured,  they  were  at  least 
tolerated  ;  but  what  would  be  the  attentions  accorded  to  the 
wandering  Jewish  stranger  in  the  bloody  and  luxurious  city  of 
the  heathen  ?  What  sort  of  reception  could  he  expect  from 
kings  of  the  type  of  Sargon  or  Assurbanipal  ?  Jonah,  like 
many  men,  fled  headlong  from  what  he  knew  to  be  his  duty. 
Anything  seemed  to  be  more  tolerable  than  that. 

God  sent  him  eastward  to  Assyria.  He  was  determined  to 
fly  westward,  along  the  whole  Mediterranean,  to  Spain.  From 
the  hills  of  Zebulon  he  hurried  down  to  the  port  of  Joppa, 
hastened  on  board  ship,  paid  the  fare,  and  set  sail  "  to  go  to 
Tarshish  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord."  But  he  was  very 
s[)eedily  taught  that  he  could  no  more  get  rid  of  the  presence 
of  the  Lord  than  he  could  get  rid  of  his  own  being.  He  had 
to  learn  the  lesson  which  the  Psalmist  learnt  :  "  Whither  shall 
I  go  then  from  Thy  Spirit,  and  whither  shall  I  go  then  from 
Thy  presence.'"' 

His  folly  soon  became  apparent.  God  cast  forth  a  great 
wind  upon  the  sea  ;  the  ship  was  in  danger  of  being  swamped. 
The  heathen  mariners,  in  their  terror,  flung  the  cargo  over- 
board, and  cried  to  their  gods.  But,  amid  all  the  terror  and 
confusion,  Jonah  was  fast  asleep.     His   flight  from  duty  had 


238  THE   MINOR    PROPHETS. 

Ijeen  long  and  precipitous,  and  in  the  lethargy  of  his  conscience 
he  slept  heavily. 

Happily,  however,  his  conscience,  though  slumbering,  was 
not  dead  when  "  the  sea  of  calamity  met  the  sea  of  crime." 
The  voice  which  he  had  vainly  tried  to  silence  spoke  to  him  in 
the  voice  of  the  shipmaster  :  "  What  aileth  thee,  O  sleeper  ? 
Arise,  call  upon  thy  God,  that  we  perish  not."  He  saw,  as  the 
heathen  sailors  also  saw,  that  this  was  no  common  storm.  The 
ship  was  the  court  of  justice,  the  sailors  the  judges,  the  winds 
the  executioner  ;  the  accuser  was  the  angry  sea.  They  cast 
lots  to  find  the  criminal ;  the  lot  fell  on  Jonah.  The  mariners 
crowded  round  him.  "  Tell  us,"  they  said,  "  why  is  this  ?  What 
is  thy  business  ?  Whence  art  thou  .''  Of  what  people  .'"'  Every 
question  came  home  to  the  guilty  fugitive.  "  I  who  am  in  this 
heathen  ship  ;  I  whose  business  is  at  Nineveh  ;  I  whom  God 
has  a  right  to  command  ;  I  at  whom  this  storm  is  bent — I  am 
a  Hebrew."  Well  might  they  be  afraid,  and  say,  "  Why  hast 
thou  done  this  ?  Thou,  who  fearest  God,  who  made  the  sea, 
to  fly  over  the  sea  !  We  are  heathens,  but  that  thou  shouldst 
do  this  !  " 

For  a  time  Jonah  rose  in  his  fall.  He  knew  that  his  guilt 
was  imperilling  the  lives  of  others.  He  bade  them  cast  him 
into  the  tempestuous  sea.  This  phase  of  the  story  offers  an 
instructive  contrast  to  that  narrated  in  the  Gospels  of  the  calm 
sleep  of  Christ  amid  the  wind  and  storm  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 
Where  guilt  is,  there  is  peril  ;  where  Christ  is,  there  is  safety. 
Where  guilt  is,  the  soul  will  be  weighed  down  to  the  depths  ; 
where  Christ  is,  we  can  walk  upon  the  billows.  Where  a  Jonah 
is  on  board,  the  gallant  ship  will  but  sink  like  lead  in  the 
mighty  waters  ;  where  Christ  is,  a  boat  of  wattled  reeds  may 
outlive  the  storm. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  throughout  the  Book  of  Jonah 
the  heathen  are  represented  in  a  light  far  more  favourable  than 
the  Jew.  "  The  mariners  were  spared ;  the  prophet  was  cast 
forth  as  guilty.  The  Ninevites  were  forgiven  ;  the  prophet  is 
rebuked."  These  heathen  sailors  were  unwilling  to  cast  Jonah 
into  the  sea.  They  rowed  hard— in  the  picturesque  language 
of  the  original  they  "  dug  the  sea  ;  "  but  they  could  not  bring 
the  ship  to  land.  The  sea  wrought  and  was  tempestuous  against 
them.  Then,  seeing  that  all  else  was  vain,  they  cried  :  "  We 
beseech  Thee,  O  Lord,  we  beseech  Tliec,  let  us  not  pcribh  for 


JONAH.  239 

this  man's  life  ;  let  us  not  be  held  responsible  for  having  shed 
innocent  blood.  We  are  but  doing  as  Thou  hast  willed."  So 
they  bowed  to  the  dreadful  necessity.  Without  violence  they 
lifted  up  the  willing,  conscience-stricken  victim  and  cast  him 
forth  into  the  sea  ;  and  then,  like  a  hungry  monster  which  had 
received  its  prey,  the  sea  was  still.  The  ship  sailed  on  with 
its  awestruck  and  thankful  crew. 

Jonah  was  saved  from  his  fearful  jeopardy.  Two  verses 
exhaust  all  that  the  story  has  to  tell  of  the  method  of  his 
deliverance.  It  says  that  God  had  prepared  a  great  fish  which 
swallowed  Jonah,  and  at  God's  bidding  cast  him  forth  on 
land.  It  is  on  this  single  incident  that  attention  has  concen- 
trated itself  in  volumes  of  speculation.  Those  who  have 
accepted  it  as  a  miracle  have  anathematized  those  who  looked 
on  it  as  a  moral  figure,  and  those  who  have  regarded  it  as  a 
moral  figure  have  derided  those  who  believe  it  to  be  a  miracle. 
Both  sets  of  reasoners  might  have  learnt  from  this  remarkable 
book  lessons  of  the  love  of  God  for  man,  and  of  the  tolerance 
due  from  men  to  one  another,  which  would  have  saved  them 
from  all  this  mutual  embitterment.  It  is,  at  any  rate,  clear  that 
the  Book  of  Jonah  was  not  written  in  order  that  we  might 
"  pore  over  the  whale,  and  forget  God  ; "  might  expatiate 
on  the  portent  which  it  touches  so  slightly,  and  ignore  the  deep 
lessons  which  are  the  true  essence  of  the  book.  The  question 
is  one  for  linguistic  and  historic  criticism  finally  to  decide. 

Jonah  was  delivered  by  a  great  deliverance  from  the  raging 
waves,  and  he  thanked  God.  In  his  prayer,  which  fills  the 
second  chapter,  he  dwells  on  his  escape,  but  not  at  all  on 
the  manner  of  it  ;  he  pours  out  his  heart  to  God,  who 
had  saved  him  from  the  grave  of  waters  when  he  seemed 
to  be  carried  down  to  the  monstrous  bottoms  of  the  world, 
but  makes  no  allusion  whatever  to  that  mode  of  his  de- 
liverance which  has  concentrated  and  absorbed  the  whole 
attention  of  controversial  disputants.  But  in  spite  of  this  great 
rescue,  the  rest  of  his  story  still  reveals  the  selfishness,  the 
imperfection,  the  sinful  littleness  of  his  natural  character.  Again 
the  word  of  the  Lord  bade  him  go  to  Nineveh  and  deliver  the 
message  entrusted  to  him.  He  obeyed.  Nineveh  was  the 
London  of  the  ancient  world ;  and  such  districts  of  streets  and 
parks  and  gardens  lay  in  it,  that  it  was  sixty  miles  in  circum- 
(crence.     Through  this  vast  city  he  passed— a  day's  journey  ; 


240  THE   MIWOR   PROPHETS. 

and  ever  as  he  passed  he  delivered  his  sole,  his  unconditional, 
his  terrible  message  of  five  Hebrew  words  :  "  Vet  forty  days, 
and  Nineveh  overthrown."  From  sunrise  to  sunset  the 
crowded  streets,  the  vast  spaces  full  of  cruel  palaces,  with  their 
idolatrous  figures  of  winged  bulls  and  frescoes  of  lion-hunts 
and  conquests,  saw  with  astonishment  the  rude  figure  in  its 
one  rough  garment  of  hair-cloth  ;  heard  with  terror  the  oft- 
repeated,  unvarying  cry,  "  Yet  forty  days,  and  Nineveh  over- 
thrown." The  message  has  been  declared  to  be  impossibly 
simple  ;  but  Eastern  readers  would  appreciate  the  awful  im- 
pressiveness  of  its  simplicity  and  the  sublime  audacity  of  the 
stranger  with  his  ringing,  monotonous  message.  It  was  like 
the  "  Repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand,"  of  John 
the  Baptist ;  it  was  like  the  cry  of  Jesus,  son  of  Hanan,  the 
unlettered  rustic,  for  four  years  through  Jerusalem  before  its 
siege,  shouting,  "  Woe,  woe  to  Jerusalem.''  Jerusalem  did  not 
repent,  because  her  day  was  come  ;  but  Nineveh  for  a  time 
repented,  and  was  reprieved,  because  the  cup  of  her  iniquity 
was  not  yet  full.  The  East  is  deeply  susceptible  of  religious 
impressions.  The  missionary  Dr.  Woolf  rode  in  the  full  robes 
of  a  clergyman,  reading  aloud  trom  his  Bible,  into  the  streets 
of  Bokhara  unmolested  through  the  midst  of  an  intensely 
fanatical  and  reckless  population.  Even  in  our  own  colder 
regions  a  deep  impression  was  produced  by  the  leather  garment 
and  rude  speech  of  George  Fox,  the  Quaker  ;  and  the  wild 
Kingswood  colliers,  a  savage  and  semi-heathen  race,  wept 
white  traces  on  their  black  cheeks  at  the  preaching  of  George 
Whitefield.  Nineveh  repented  as  England  repented  in  part  at 
the  early  preaching  of  methodists  and  evangelicals.  The  wild 
cry  thrilled  with  its  tone  of  terror  into  the  heart  even  of  the 
king  and  his  nobles.  It  produced  a  panic,  a  revival,  if  not  a 
conversion.  The  whole  people  is  bidden  to  fast  and  pray  and 
repent ;  the  very  animals  are  included,  Eastern-fashion,  in  the 
general  humiliation  ;  and  that  one  Lent  of  deep  penitence 
saved  six  hundred  thousand  souls.  It  is,  of  course,  implied 
that  Jonah  was  seconded  by  a  preacher  of  infinite  power — the 
preaching  of  conscience,  the  "  voice  of  God  in  the  heart  of 
man."  In  the  hour  of  terror  the  slumbering  conscience  of 
nations  also  is  awakened  to  the  sense  of  their  crimes.  Just  as 
on  the  day  when  the  awful  news  came  to  Athens  of  the  utter 
defeat  and  destruction  of  her  fleet  at  /Egospotami,  the  cry  of 


JONAH.  241 

woe  began  at  the  Piraeus,  and  ran  down  the  long  walls  to  the 
city,  and  on  that  night  "not  a  man  slept,"  not  only  from 
sorrow  for  the  past  or  terror  for  the  future,  but  also  from 
remorse,  because  they  felt  that  what  was  coming  upon  them 
was  a  retribution  for  their  own  faithless  and  atrocious  cruelty 
to  /Egina,  to  Melos,  and  to  Scione  ;— so  at  the  cry  of  Jonah, 
which  threatened  them  with  retributive  overthrow,  Nineveh 
was  stirred  to  the  heart,  and  repented— repented  and  was 
saved.  The  conditionality  of  all  God's  threatenings— the  truth 
that  the  menaced  penalties  may  always  be  averted  by  timely 
penitence — was  perhaps  meant  to  be  one  main  lesson  of  the  book. 
"  At  what  instant  I  shall  speak  concerning  a  nation,"  sailh  the 
Lord,  "to  pluck  up,  and  to  pull  down,  and  to  destroy  it,  if  that 
nation  against  whom  I  have  pronounced  turn  from  their  evil,  I 
will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I  thought  to  do  unto  them.''  In  this 
respect  it  is  with  kingdoms  as  it  is  with  individual  men. 

There  is  an  astonishing  boldness,  as  well  as  a  deep  moral 
insight,  in  the  following  verses.  "  God  repented  of  the  evil  th.it 
He  had  said  He  would  do  unto  them,  and  He  did  it  not.  But 
it  displeased  Jonah  exceedingly,  and  he  was  very  angry.' 
With  unflinching  plainness  the  prophet  is  set  before  us  in  a 
light  so  ent'rely  odious  that  there  is  almost  an  excuse  for  the 
critics  who  have  seen  in  the  book  a  satire  on  some  of  the 
sterner  phases  of  propheti. m.  It  is  indeed  a  revolting  thought 
that  a  prophet  should  be  very  angry  because  God  was  merciful  ; 
that  he  should  peevishly  complain  against  God,  and  wish  him- 
self de;id,  because  God  does  not  upheave  Nineveh  with  His 
earthquakes  or  smite  it  with  His  thunderbolts  to  save  his  pftiy 
personal  credit.  He  had  thanked  God  for  his  own  preserv..- 
tion,  but  he  is  sore  displeased  that  these  six  hundred  thousand 
should  be  spared.  It  might  seem  to  be  an  inconceivable  per- 
versity of  pitiless  religious  hatred,  but  it  is  very  common.  It 
is  the  spirit  of  Job's  three  friends,  torturing  Job  with  the  petty 
orthodoxies  which  made  God  so  angry.  It  is  the  spirit  ot  the 
Jews  in  their  Talmud,  cursing  and  execrating  the  Gentiles.  It 
is  the  spirit  of  the  elder  brother,  furious  and  sullen  because  I' is 
father  has  forgiven  the  prodigal.  It  is  the  spirit  of  the  Phari- 
sees, dragging  in  the  adulteress,  and  telling  Jesus  that  such 
creatures  should  be  stoned.  It  is  the  spirit  of  Simon  saying 
that  Jesus  cannot  be  a  profh-t,  because  He  has  suffered  the 
penitent  har.ot  to  weep  upon  His  feet.     It  is  the  spirit  of  the 

17 


242  THE   MINOR    PROrHETS. 

souls  under  the  altar,  crying,  "How  long,  O  Lord,  how  long?" 
Impatient  at  the  longsuffering  that  delayeth  vengeance  on  their 
foes.  It  is  the  dark,  sinister,  selfish  side  of  even  great  religious 
teachers.  It  is  the  spirit  of  envy,  haired,  and  intolerance 
which  finds  vent  in  malice  and  bitterness,  and  is  the  curse 
alike  of  the  Cliurch  and  of  the  world. 

But  the  story  goes  on  to  show  us  that  God  is  merciful  to 
Jonah  no  less  than  to  Nineveh,  to  the  hard  Pharisee  as  well  as 
to  the  trembling  sinners.  He  did  not  spurn  Jonah  away  because 
of  his  petty  and  merciless  pride.  He  only  spoke  to  him  in  the 
still  small  voice  of  conscience,  "  Doest  thou  well  to  be  angry  ?" 
But  Jonah  went  out  of  the  city,  and  made  himself  a  booth,  and 
sat  under  it,  not  believing  that  God  could  really  be  so  gracious, 
or  that  He  could  have  bade  him  speak  a  threat  which  yet  in 
His  mercy  He  repealed.  He  had  expected  to  see  men,  women, 
children,  cattle,  all  perishing,  all  the  city  overthrown  ;  but  they 
all  lived,  and  there  the  city  still  glittered  before  his  eyes.  He 
had  expected  it — had  he  Jiopcd  for  it  .''  Yes,  it  is  distinctly 
implied  that  he  had  hoped  for  it.  "  Better  that  Nineveh  perish 
rather  than  that  I  should  be  proved  to  have  been  mistaken." 

No  more  powerful  warning  to  the  merciless  spirit  of  in- 
tolerant Pharisaism  was  ever  penned  than  that  which  is  involved 
in  the  spectacle  here  so  vividly  presented  to  us  of  this  proud, 
hard  prophet  sitting  in  moody  gloom,  half  mad  with  vexation, 
because  God  was  more  merciful  than  he.  And  the  tone  and 
temper  which  Jonah  then  displayed  received  again  and  again 
the  stern  rebuke  of  Christ.  "  Is  thine  eye  evil  because  I  am 
good  ?  "  is  the  heart-searching  question  addressed  to  the 
labourer  who  thinks  that  he  has  been  personally  injured 
because  a  later  labourer  wins  the  same  reward. 

And  here  we  may  once  more  notice  a  striking  contrast. 
Jesus  wept  over  doomed  Jerusalem  ;  Jonah  was  very  angry 
because  of  Nineveh  re|)rieved. 

But  once  more  God  dealt  tenderly  with  this  petty.  )o\eIess 
nature.  The  sun  was  hot,  and  He  gave  him  shade  under  the 
broad  green  leaves  of  the  quick-growing  palmchri^t  ;  and 
Jonah  was  glad.  Next  morning  a  worm  had  gnawed  at  the 
plant's  root,  and  it  withered.  The  simoon  breathed  its  hot 
flame,  and  the  sun  smote  on  the  prophet's  head  ;  and  once 
more  he  pettishly  wished  himself  dead.  Again  came  the  gentle 
question,  "  Docst  thou  well  to  be  angr)' .'"'     Again  the  fretful 


JONAH.  243 

answer,  "I  do  well  to  be  angry  even  to  death."  It  is  a 
marvellously  vivid  presentation  of  a  poor  peevish  nature,  with 
its  physical  discomfort  and  its  fierce  religionism,  its  cherished 
hatred  and  its  personal  pique—equally  miserable  over  the  saved 
city  and  the  withered  gourd— little  in  its  disappointments  and 
base  in  its  hopes. 

It  will  be  ^een,  then,  even  from  this  brief  sketch,  that  the 
liook  of  Jonah  is  a  remarkable  and  beautiful  book,  full  of  large 
lessons  of  toleration,  of  pity,  of  the  impossibility  of  flying  from 
(lod,  of  the  merciful  deliverances  of  God,  of  the  just  retribu- 
tions of  God,  of  the  infinite  love  of  God,  of  man's  little  hatreds 
shamed  into  fatuity,  dwarfed  into  insignificance,  by  God's 
abounding  tenderness.  It  teaches  us  that  no  man  can  be  to 
the  nations  a  herald  of  God's  righteousness  who  is  not  a  herald 
also  of  His  mercy  ;  that  God's  righteousness  is  shown  in 
making  men  righteous  ;  that  if  they  will  submit  to  be  made 
so,  His  end  is  accomplished  ;  if  they  will  resist,  then  His 
vengeance  will  go  forth,  not  because  He  has  forgotten  mercy, 
but  because  that  which  is  unmerciful  and  hard-hearted  shall 
not  possess  the  earth  which  He  claims  for  His  dominion.  "O 
God,"  says  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  "  the  whole 
world  is  as  a  drop  of  morning  dew.  But  Thou  hast  mercy  upon 
all.  .  .  .  For  Thou  lovest  all  things  that  are,  and  abhorrest 
nothing  that  Thou  hast  made.  .  .  .  But  Thou  sparest  all  .  .  . 
for  they  are  Thine,  O  Lord,  Thou  lover  of  souls." 


244 


THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 


CHIEF  PROPHECIES  IN  THE  MINOR  PROPHETS  WHICH 
ARE  MESSIANICALLY  APPLIED,  OR  OTHERWISE  RE- 
FERRED  TO   IN    THE  NEW^   TESTAMENT. 

"  The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy  "  (Rev.  xix.  lo). 


Hosea  i.  lo, 

li.  23 

Call  of  the  Gentiles. 

Rom.  ix.  25;  Matt.  ix.  31 

.,      iii.  5 

Return  of    Israel  to   David 

their  king. 

I  Pet.  ii.  10 

..       X.  8 

Calling  to  the  mountains  and 

rocks. 

Luke  xxiii.  30 

,,     xi.  I 

"  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called 

My  son." 

Matt.  ii.  15 

„     vi.  2 

"On  the  third  day." 

I  Cor.  XV.  4 

,,  xiii.  14 

Death  and  Sheol. 

I  Cor.  XV.  55 

Joel  ii.  28,  29 

The  outpouring  of  the  Spirit. 

Acts  ii.  17 

.,      ii.  32 

Call  of  the  Gentiles. 

Rom.  X.  13 

Amos  ix.  II 

Restoration  of  Tabernacle  of 

David. 

Acts  XV.  16 

Obadiah,  ver 

21 

Jehovah's  kingdom. 

Luke  i.  33 

Jonah 

The  signs  of  the  prophet. 

Matt.  xvi.  4  ;  Luke  xi. 

>> 

The  typical  resurrection. 

30 
Matt.  xii.  40 

,, 

The  Kdipoi  lOvaiv. 

Luke  xxi.  24 

Micah  ii.  12 

13 

Messiah's  kingdom. 

Rom.  vii   26 

V.  I, 

2 

Bethlehem- Ephratah. 

Matt.  ii.  5,6  ;  John  vii. 4a 

iv.  8 

Migdal-Eder. 

Luke  xxiv.  47 

,,      vii.  6 

Variance  in  homes. 

Matt.  X.  35  ;  Mark  xiii. 

Nahum  i.  7 

"  The   Lord    knoweth  them 

12 

that  are  His." 

2  Tim.  ii.  19 

Habakkuk  ii. 

3.4 

orr  ipxonivos  I'lyit-  LXX. 

Heb.  X.  37 

,,       ii. 

4 

"  The  just  shall  live  by  faith." 

Gal.  iii.  11. 

Zephaniah  iii 

IS 

The  king  of  Israel. 

John  i.  49 

Haggai  ii.  6- 

3 

The  shaking  of  the  nations. 

Heb.  xii.  26 

21- 

23 

Promise  to  Zerul)babcl. 

Luke  iii.  27 

THE  MINOR   PROPHETS. 


245 


Zechariah    iii.  8 

The  Branch. 

Luke  i.  78 

,, 

vi.  13 

The  crowned  Priest. 

Phil.ii.5-11  ;  Heb.  vi.  20 

^  J 

viii.  23 

Final  glory  of  Israel. 

Acts  xiii.  47,  48 

" 

ix.  9 

The  lowly  King. 

Matt.  xxi.  4,  5  ;  John 
xii.  14-16 

,, 

xi.  12,  13 

Betrayal     of    the    Good 

Sliepherd. 

Matt,  xxvii.  9 

It  ■ 

xii.  3 

The  stone  of  stumbling. 

Matt.  xxi.  44 

,, 

xii.  8 

Exaltation     of     David's 

house. 

Luke  ii.  4. 

•• 

xii.  10 

Men     shall     look     unto 
Me,  whom  they  have 

pierced. 

John  xix.  37 

,, 

xiii.  I 

The  cleansing  fountain. 

Rev,  i.  5 

,, 

xiii.  7-9 

Fate  of  the  Shepherd  of 

the  sheep. 

Matt.  xxvi.  31  ;  Mark 
xiv.  27 

., 

xiv.  9 

Jehovah's  kingdom. 

John  x.  16  ;  Rev.  xi.  15 

,, 

xiv.  20 

Universal  holiness. 

Rev.  xxi.  27 

Malachi 

i.  II 

1  he  universal  offering. 

Rev.  viii.  3,  4 

,, 

iii.  I 

The    messenger    of  the 

covenant. 

Mark  i.  2  ;  Luke  i.  76, 
vii.  27 

t* 

iv,  1-3 

The  Day  of  the  Lord. 

Matt.  iii.  12  ;  Rev.  i.  7 

•• 

iv.  5 

Elijah  the  prophet. 

Matt.  xi.  14,  xvii.  12 ; 
Mark  ix.  13  ;  Luke  i. 
17 

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